SO  fts, 


TING 


GAS-FITTING. 


THIRD  EDITION, 


WM.  PAUL  GERHABD,  C  ;    ; 

Consulting Eny iiutr f'tr  H(i2i     ••<  •          Sanii        .'   \r)   , 

M      '     •    '     -    ."    I, 


.D.    VAN   NOSTRAND   COMPANY, 

PUBLISHERS. 
1904. 


THE 

VAM  MnQTDA 


No.  11.  THEORY     OF    ARCHES.       By    Prof.    W. 

Allan. 

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THIC    VAX     NOSTRAND     SClKNCK     SERIES. 


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No.   14.   FRICTION   OF  AIR  IN  MINES.     By  J.  J. 

Atkinson.      Second    American    edition. 

No.   15.   SKEW  ARCHES.      By  Prof.   K.  W.  Hyde, 

C.E.      Illustrated.      Second   edition. 

No.   10.   GRAPHIC       METHOD       FOR       SOLVING 

Certain  Questions  in  Arithmetic  or  Algebra. 
By  Prof.  G.  L.  Vose.  Second  edition. 

No.   17.   WATER       AND       WATER- SUPPLY.       By 

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"Engineering  News."  Second  edition,  re- 
vised and  enlarged. 

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Transverse  Loads.  By  Prof.  W.  Allan, 
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No.  20.   BRIDGE    AND   TUNNEL    CENTRES.      By 

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No.  22.   HIGH  MASONRY  DAMS.     By  E.  Sherman 

Gould,  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.     Second  Edition. 

No.  23.   THE     FATIGUE     OF     METALS     UNDER 

Repeated  Strains.  With  various  Tables  of 
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Preface  by  S.  H.  Shreve,  A.M. 

No.  24.  A  PRACTICAL   TREATISE  ON   THE 

Teeth  of  Wheels.  By  Prof.  S.  W.  Robinson. 
3d  edition,  revised,  with  additions. 

No.  25.  THEORY        AND        CALCULATION        OF 

Cantilever  Bridges.     By  R.  M.  Wilcox. 

No.  26.  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  THE  PROP- 

erties  of  Continuous  Bridges.  By  Charles 
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sion.  By  F.  J.  Rowan.  Now  edition.  Re- 
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and  Country  Dwelling-houses.  By  George 
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Bridges.     B.  W.  Hildenbrand,   C.E. 

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Maxwell,    M.A.      Second    American    edition. 

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Bridges.  By  Prof.  William  Cain,  A.M.,  C.E. 
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liam  Kent,  C.E.,  Asspc.  Editor  "Engineering 
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Trowbridge,  Columbia  College.  Second  edi- 
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BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR: 


HOUSE  DRAINAGE  AND  SANITARY 
PLUMBING. 

(Science  Series  No.  63.) 

Tenth  Edition,  revised  and  enlarged. 

With  Illustrations.    1903. 


RECENT     PRACTICE     IN     THE 

SANITARY      DRAINAGE 

OF     BUILDINGS. 

(Science  Series  No.  93.) 
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THE    DISPOSAL     OF     HOUSEHOLD 
WASTES. 

(Science  Series  No.  97.) 
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GAS-LIGHTING  AND  GAS-FITTING, 

A  POCKET  BOOK   FOE  GAS  COMPANIES,  GAS 
ENGINEERS  AND  GAS  FITTERS,  FOR  MANU- 
FACTURERS OF  GAS  FIXTURES  AND 
DEALERS  IN  GAS  APPLIANCES,  FOR 
GAS  CONSUMERS,  ARCHITECTS  AND 
BUILDERS,  HEALTH  OFFICERS  AND 
SANITARY  INSPECTORS. 


THIRD     EDITION. 


BY 

WM.  PAUL  GERHARD,  C.E., 

Consulting  Engineer  for  Hydraulic  and  Sanitary  Works, 
New  York  City. 


NEW  YORK: 
D.  VAN  NOSTRAND  COMPANY, 

23  MURRAY  AND  27  WARREN  STREETS. 
1904. 


COPYRIGHT,  1894. 
D.  VAN  NOSTRAND  COMPANY. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  "  Notes  on  Gas  Lighting 
and  Gas  Fitting  "  were  first  published  by 
the  author  in  1887.  In  1892  he  prepared 
a  special  pamphlet  containing  "  Hints  to 
Gas  Consumers,"  of  which  over  5,000 
copies  were  bought  and  distributed  by  gas 
companies. 

It  has  been  the  author's  intention  to 
re- write  the  entire  matter  and  to  publish 

I   I.    *    v 

a  larger  manual  on  the  subject  of  the 
domestic  uses  of  ^ coal  gas,  but  the  press- 
ing demands  upon  his  time  of  a  large  and 
constantly  increasing  practice  in  the  field 
of  domestic  engineering  and  of  house 
sanitation  in  (particular,  have  prevented 
the  autnor^so  far  from  carrying  out  his 

plan"         26849.1 


The  larger  book  is,  however,  in  actual 
preparation,  and  pending  the  publication 
of  the  same,  it  was  deemed  desirable  to 
supply  the  demand  for  a  small  guide  on 
the  subject,  written  from  an  American 
standpoint,  by  issuing  this  little  volume, 
which  in  addition  to  the  two  articles 
mentioned  above,  contains  an  introduc- 
tory article  on  "Artificial  Illumination, 
Historical  Notes  on  Gas  Lighting,  and 
on  the  Advantages  of  Gas"  first  published 
in  the  American  Architect,  an  article  on 
"  Gas  for  Cooking  and  Heating  Par- 
poses"  published  first  in  Domestic  Engin- 
eering,  and  the  admirable  "Rules  and 
Regulations  on  Gas"  issued  by  the  Munic- 
ipal Department  of  the  City  of  Munich, 
translated  by  the  writer. 

WM.  PAUL  *GERHAKD. 

NEW  YORK,  December,  1893, 
36  Union  Square. 


GAS-LIGHTING  m  GAS-FITTING. 


AKTIFICIAX  ILLUMINATION. 

Numerous  and  varied  are  the  methods 
employed  at  the  present  day  for  obtain- 
ing artificial  illumination.  Leaving  out 
of  consideration  the  electric  light  which 
occupies  a  position  by  itself,  we  may, 
broadly  speaking,  distinguish  between 
solid,  liquid  and  gaseous  illuminants,  of 
which  the  candle,  the  oil-lamp  and  the 
gas-flame  are  representative  forms. 

It  would  be  interesting  and  instructive 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  different  kinds 
of  artificial  light  employed  both  in  domes- 
tic and  in  street  lighting  at  various  periods 
of  history,  and  to  follow  the  successive  im- 
provements in  lighting  introduced  by  men 
of  talent  and  inventive  genius.  It  seems 
indeed  a  gigantic  step  forward  from  the 
crude  methods  of  lighting  employed  by 


8 

the  ancients  to  the  gas-light  and  the  elec- 
tric-light of  the  nineteenth  century.  But 
the  glow  of  the  camp-fire,  the  light  from 
blazing  logs,  or  from  torches  made  of  splin- 
ters of  resinous  wood,  as  exclusively  em- 
ployed by  our  forefathers,  may  even  now- 
adays be  found  in  use  by  the  Indians  and 
other  uncivilized  tribes.  It  may,  therefore, 
be  said  that  the  means  for  artificial  illumi- 
nation employed  at  the  present  time  are  an 
indication  of  the  more  or  less  advanced 
state  of  civilization  of  a  nation. 

The  burning  log  and  the  blazing  resinous 
pine  torch  are  the  oldest  and  crudest 
methods  of  lighting. 

Oil  was  burnt  by  the  Phoenicians,  the 
Greeks  and  the  Romans  in  primitive  forms 
of  open-vase  lamps,  into  which  a  cotton  or 
flax  wick  dipped. 

The  Romans  used  the  first  candles  in  the 
form  of  rushes  covered  with  wax  or  tallow, 
or  of  rope  saturated  with  pitch  or  resin. 
These  candles  were  gradually  improved 
and  formed,  during  the  Middle  Ages,  the 
principal  means  of  church  illumination,  and 
were  likewise  used  in  castles  at  court  festi- 


9 

vals.  Later  on,  the  smoky  and  ill-smell- 
ing tallow  candle  was  replaced  by  the 
better  forms  of  drawn  or  cast  candles, 
made  from  sperm,  paraffine,  wax  and 
stearine.  The  modern  improved  candle 
differs  from  the  candles  employed  in  the 
last  century  principally  in  the  method  of 
manufacturing  the  wick,  which  as  the 
candle  grows  shorter  in  burning,  is  con- 
sumed and  reduced  to  ashes,  thus  render- 
ing the  use  of  the  "  snuffers "  of  our 
grandfathers,  which  many  of  us  still  may 
remember,  unnecessary. 

The  rude  forms  of  lamps  employed  by 
the  Romans  and  Etruscans  have  been 
gradually  displaced  by  lamps  of  improved 
construction,  with  closed  oil-reservoirs, 
improved  wicks  and  variously  shaped 
burners.  Argand  invented  and  developed 
the  round  form  of  burner  and  wick,  the 
oil  ascending  from  the  reservoir  into  the 
wick  and  to  the  tip  of  the  burner  by  capil- 
lary attraction.  Carcel  made  further  im- 
provements by  placing  the  oil-reservoir  at 
the  bottom  of  the  lamp,  where  it  would 
not  throw  a  disagreeable  shadow.  In  this 


10 

form  of  lamp  the  oil  has  to  be  forced  up  to 
the  wick  by  means  of  a  pump,  or  in  the 
later  "  moderator  "  lamp,  by  a  spring  act- 
ing upon  a  leather  plunger.  The  liquid 
illuminant  employed  in  these  lamps  was 
either  colza  oil,  olive  oil  or  some  other 
vegetable  oil. 

Still  later,  and  belonging  to  the  present 
century,  came  the  use  of  kerosene  or  min- 
eral oil  in  lamps,  this  illuminant  being  a 
liquid  improved  by  distillation  and  refin- 
ing, which  operations  remove  the  more 
volatile,  highly  inflammable  and,  there- 
fore, dangerous  ingredients  of  the  oil. 

Equally  as  varied  as  the  means  employed 
for  domestic  illumination  have  been  those 
in  use  at  different  periods  of  history  for 
the  lighting  of  streets,  highways  and 
public  squares.  In  the  larger  cities  the 
darkness  of  the  evening  hours  was  at  first 
dispelled  in  a  measure  by  the  use  of  flaming 
torch-lights,  of  fire-baskets  and  of  candles 
burnt  in  glass-lanterns,  which  were  either 
carried  by  hand  or  hung  out  from  windows. 
Later  on,  the  candle-lanterns  were  replaced 
by  oil-lamps,  with  wick  and  reflector,  and 


11 

these  in  turn  were  superseded  by  the  intro- 
duction, at  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
of  coal-gas  burnt  in  street-lanterns,  while 
to  the  gas-light  now  so  universally  em- 
ployed, both  for  domestic  and  street  light- 
ing, a  formidable  rival  has  during  the  past 
ten  years  arisen  in  the  electric  arc-light  and 
the  incandescent  electric  glow-lamp. 

HISTOEICAL  NOTES  ON  GAS  LIGHTING. 

Wonderful  as  have  been  the  many  and 
rapid  improvements  made  in  this  last  form 
of  illumination,  viz.,  the  electric-light,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  progress  of  gas- 
lighting  has  been  no  less  astounding. 

The  present  generation  who  have  wit- 
nessed the  advent  of  the  electric-light  have 
become  so  accustomed  to  the  use  of  the 
ever- ready  gas-flame,  that  few  are  probably 
aware  of  the  difficulties  which  beset  the 
path  of  the  talented  men  of  science  who 
created  and  introduced  lighting  by  gas. 

It  is  a  matter  of  historical  record  that 
when  Murdock,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  gas- 
lighting,  appeared  in  1809  before  the 


12 


House  of  Commons  Committee,  he  was 
asked  by  one  of  the  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee, "  Do  you  mean  to  tell  us  that  it 
will  be  possible  to  have  a  light  without  a 
wick?"  and  upon  his  replying,  "  Yes,  I  do 
indeed,"  the  same  person  replied,  "  Ah, 
my  friend,  you  are  trying  to  prove  too 
much." 

We  are  also  informed  that  Samuel 
Clegg,  an  engineer  to  whom  the  world  is 
indebted  for  many  important  improve- 
ments in  gas-manufacture  and  gas-distribu- 
tion, was  sarcastically  asked  by  Sir  Hum- 
phrey Davy,  who  considered  the  idea  of 
public  gas-lighting  ridiculous,  if  Mr.  Clegg 
intended  to  take  the  Dome  of  St.  Paul's 
for  a  gasometer. 

The  great  Napoleon  laughingly  remarked 
of  gas-lighting,  "  C^est  une  grandefolie" 
and  Sir  Walter  Scott  considered  it  a  vision- 
ary scheme  and  expressed  fears  that  "Lon- 
don would  be  on  fire  by  it  from  Hackney 
Gate,  to  Tyburn  "  [east  and  west  extremi- 
ties, then,  of  London]. 

Indeed,  when  the  House  of  Commons 
was  first  lighted  by  gas,  the  astonished 


13 

citizens  of  London  were  in  such  fear  of 
burning  their  fingers  when  touching  the 
gas-pipes  for  the  conveyance  of  gas  that 
they  first  carefully  put  on  their  gloves. 

When  Westminister  Bridge  was  first 
fitted  up  for  illumination  by  gas-lamps, 
the  lamplighters  refused  to  light  the 
lamps.  In  1815,  the  London  Fire  Insur- 
ance Companies  refused  to  insure  build- 
ings lighted  with  gas.  To  overcome  their 
prejudices,  Samuel  Clegg  invited  the  Un- 
derwriters to  inspect  the  gas-works,  and 
after  explaining  to  them  the  process  of 
gas- manufacture,  and  the  method  of  stor- 
ing the  gas  at  the  gasometer,  he  quickly 
took  a  pick  and  cutting  a  hole  in  the  dome 
of  the  gas-holder,  lighted  the  escaping  gas 
without  danger  or  explosion,  and  thus 
demonstrated  to  their  satisfaction  the  com 
parative  safety  of  the  new  light. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  GAS. 

Many  are  the  advantages  of  gas  for 
household  purposes,  and  its  disadvantages 
are  comparatively  few,  and  for  this  reason 


14 


It  is  prooably  more  used  in  houses  at  the 
present  day  than  any  other  form  of  artificial 
illumination. 

Gas-light  is  relatively  cheap,  although 
kerosene  oil  per  se,  is  probably  cheaper. 
But,  in  comparing  gas  and  oil,  one  should 
not  forget  the  additional  cost  caused  by 
wear  and  tear  and  breakage  of  oil-cans, 
glass-chimneys  and  shades  of  oil-lamps. 

Gas-light  is  convenient,  and  saves  domes- 
tic labor  by  being  always  ready  for  instant 
lighting,  whereas  lamps  require  preparation 
in  filling  and  in  trimming  the  wicks,  while 
time  and  labor  are  consumed  in  procuring 
candles  or  oil. 

GasJight  is  superior  in  point  of  cleanli- 
ness to  oil-lamps  and  candles,  because  there 
is  no  spilling  of  oil,  no  dropping  of  candle- 
grease,  no  greasy  or  oily  hands  from  the 
cleaning  of  lamps;  there  is  no  smoking  of 
candles  and  no  offensive  odor  such  as 
attaches  to  oils  and  fats. 

Gas-light  is  brilliant,  yet  easily  con- 
trolled, readily  increased  or  diminished, 
and  not  difficult  to  manage  by  persons  of 
ordinary  intelligence. 


15 

Gas-light  is  comparatively  much  safer 
than  candles  or  lamps  in  which  colza  oil  or 
kerosene  is  burned.  The  carrying  about 
of  candles  or  lamps,  with  the  unavoidable 
danger  from  fire  or  from  lamp  explosions, 
is  rendered  unnecessary,  as  only  a  match  is 
required  to  light  the  gas  at  the  burner. 

Gas-light,  finally,  creates  in  proportion 
to  the  light  developed  less  disagreeable 
heat  and  is  less  unhealthful  than  candles 
or  oil-lamps,  where  proper  ventilation  of 
rooms  is  provided.  The  increased  illumi- 
nation by  gas-light  in  our  streets,  squares 
and  parks,  as  compared  with  the  former 
semi-darkness,  has  been  a  great  protection 
to  property  and  life,  and  the  parks  and 
alleys  of  our  cities  are  not  so  much  as 
formerly  the  haunts  of  the  vicious  and  the 
criminals,  for  efficient  public  lighting  is 
the  best  safeguard  against  the  commit- 
ment of  crimes. 

With  the  advent  of  gas-light  an  entire 
revolution  in  social  life  has  taken  place, 
and  civilization  owes  not  a  little  of  its 
progress  to  the  increased  illumination  of 


16 


the  streets  as  well  as  of  buildings  for 
amusement,  worship  and  education. 

Incidentally  I  would  call  attention  to 
the  many  other  uses  to  which  coal  or 
illuminating  gas  has  in  recent  years  been 
put.  Gas  is  used  for  heating  rooms,  heat- 
ing sadirons,  heating  water;  gas  is  em- 
ployed for  cooking,  roasting,  baking,  steam- 
ing, frying,  boiling  and  broiling;  gas  is 
adopted  as  fuel  to  drive  small  domestic 
motors,  gas-engines  of  various  kinds,  gas 
and  caloric  pumping-engines,  also  for  heat- 
ing soldering-irons,  and  for  various  other 
industrial  purposes,  and,  finally,  it  is  ex- 
tensively employed  for  artificial  ventilation 
by  means  of  gas-jets  burning  in  exhaust- 
flues,  or  by  the  use  of  sun-burners. 

More  recently,  with  the  arrival  of  the 
incandescent  electric  glow-lamp,  much  has 
been  said  about  the  injurious  influence  of 
gas-lights  upon  health,  of  the  vitiation  of 
the  atmosphere  of  rooms,  and  of  the  des- 
tructive effects  of  gas,  when  imperfectly 
consumed,  upon  the  furniture  and  decora- 
tions of  a  room,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
smoking-up  of  ceilings  and  walls. 


E 

But  notwithstanding  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  domestic  electric-lighting,  and  not- 
withstanding also  the  recent  return  in 
dwellings  to  the  use  of  oil-lamps,  which  on 
account  of  their  softer  and  steadier  light, 
are  by  many  preferred  for  reading  and 
sewing,  and  to  the  use  of  extensive  and 
costly  paraffine  and  wax  candles  in  luxu- 
rious gilt  or  silver  candelabras  and  sconces, 
a  use  dictated  by  the  ruling  fashion  on 
account  of  the  beautiful  soft  and  mellow 
illumination  obtained,  the  use  of  gas  in 
dwelling-houses,  offices  and  stores  is  un- 
doubtedly so  convenient  and  comparatively 
safe,  that  for  many  years  to  come  it  will 
constitute  the  chief  means  of  artificial 
illumination. 

To  quote  from  R.  H.  Patterson's  article 
on  "  Gas-burners  and  the  Principles  of 
Gas  Illumination  "  in  King's  "  Treatise  on 
Gas  ":  "  Any  one  who  learns  from  the  ex- 
perience of  human  customs  and  affairs, 
will  feel  assured  that  gas-light,  although 
perhaps  with  shorn  honors,  has  still  a  long 
career  of  usefulness  before  it,  and  that 
the  admirable  improvements  in  its  ap- 


18 

pliances  made  within  the  last  twelve  01 
fourteen  years,  will  not  be  robbed  of  their 
usefulness  by  a  shunting  aside  of  the  illu- 
minant  to  which  they  have  given  a  new 
economy  and  additional  brilliance,  and 
which  still,  as  of  yore,  is  of  such  vast  and 
ever-ready  service  to  mankind. 

"  Gas-lighting  has  undoubtedly  been 
the  most  beautiful,  arid  well-nigh  the  most 
useful  triumph  which  human  invention 
has  yet  achieved  in  the  present  century. 
For  marvellousness  it  cannot  vie  with  the 
electric  telegraph  ;  for  utilitarian  value  it 
cannot  rank  with  the  steam  locomotive  and 
railways.  Nevertheless,  but  for  its  com- 
monness, even  poetic  genius  would  find  a 
congenial  theme  in  the  process  which 
evokes  the  *  spirit  of  coal,'  and,  convert- 
ing it  into  a  spirit  of  light,  conveys  it  as 
an  invisible  fluid  under  our  streets — rising 
from  below,  wherever  required,  in  pil- 
lared jets,  to  displace  the  darkness  of  the 
night  hours,  and  flood  our  roads  and  streets 
with  a  warm  and  comely  radiance.  No 
spirit  of  the  mine,  even  in  fairy  tale,  has 
so  blessed  mankind.  Passing  from  our 


19 


streets  it  enters  our  dwellings,  both  rich 
and  poor,  as  an  ever  welcome  and  valued 
visitor,  giving  to  the  word  *  home '  a  new 
attraction,  brightening  the  dwelling,  and 
enabling  us  to  pursue  our  work,  and  to 
taste  the  enjoyments  of  common  life,  as  it 
we  could  cpmmand  the  sweet  daylight  to 
attend  us  at  our  pleasure.  Thanks  to  gas- 
light, there  is  no  night  in  our  dwellings 
save  such  as  we  choose  for  our  own  com- 
fort. It  has  illumined  the  former  darkness 
of  our  halls  and  crooked  staircases.  From 
the  gaselier  in  the  dining-room  it  has  made 
sparkling  the  glass  and  silver  on  the  fes- 
tive board,  and  lit  up  the  kind  and  jovial 
faces  of  the  company,  making  banquet  or 
homely  board  lightsome  and  merry  ;  while 
in  drawing-room  or  *  assembly'  it  has 
flooded  the  room  or  hall  with  a  radiance 
but  for  which  the  dance  would  lose  much 
of  its  gaiety,  and  beauty  with  its  bright 
costumes  would  be  shorn  of  its  brilliance. 
In  the  bed-room,  too,  still  more  where 
there  is  helpless  infancy  or  sickness — 
where  child  has  to  be  watched,  or  some 
sore-pained  and  weary-hearted  invalid  has 


20 


to  be  tended,  longing  at  times  for  light  to 
break  the  dull,  drear  monotony  of  night's 
darkness — there,  too,  has  the  '  spirit  of 
coal '  been  a  priceless  boon ;  existing  when 
not  wanted,  as  a  mere  speck  of  light  with- 
in the  mellowed  globe  through  which  it 
shows  softly  as  a  spot  of  luminous  haze; 
yet  ever  ready,  on  the  mere  turning  of  a 
tap,  to  spring  instantaneously  into  full  illu- 
mination " 

I  do  not  propose  to  treat  in  these  pages 
of  the  various  processes  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  coal  or  illuminating  gas,  nor  of 
the  proper  distribution  of  gas  through  the 
streets  of  a  city,  nor  shall  I  discuss  the 
public  lighting  of  streets,  alleys,  squares 
and  parks. 

I  shall  take  up  the  subject  of  gas  from 
the  point  when  it  is  brought  to  the  con- 
sumers' premises,  and  shall  endeavor  to 
explain  how  gas  may  advantageously  be 
employed  in  the  illumination  of  our  dwell- 
ings, incidentally  mentioning  other  do- 
mestic uses  of  coal  gas. 

My  book  will  not  give  detailed  technical 
or  workshop  instruction  regarding  the 


21 

practical  work  of  the  gas  fitter  in  piping  a 
house  for  gas,  from  the  gas-fitter's  point  of 
view  only. 

The  following  pages  are  intended  chiefly 
for  the  instruction  of  the  gas  consumer,  the 
householder,  but  incidentally  they  will 
contain  much  information  useful  to  those 
contemplating  the  building  of  a  house, 
and  to  architects,  builders,  gas  engineers 
and  gas-fitters  as  well  as  sanitary  inspectors, 
enabling  them  to  acquire  a  better  knowl- 
edge as  to  how  best  to  introduce,  dis- 
tribute and  utilize  gas  and  gas-lights  in 
buildings. 

USUAL    DEFECTS    OF    GAS-LIGHTING    AND 
GAS  PIPING. 

It  is,  unfortunately,  true  that,  as  a  rule, 
not  much  attention  is  paid  by  architects 
and  builders  in  the  erection  of  new  build- 
ings to  the  means  required  for  artificial 
lighting  by  gas.  In  the  case  of  ordinary 
dwelling  houses  and  stores  the  whole  matter 
of  gas  distribution  is  left  to  the  gas-fitters, 
many  of  whom  employ  either  incompetent, 


inexperienced  or  careless  mechanics,  the 
architect  concerning  himself  chiefly  with  the 
selection  of  ornamental  gas  fixtures  which 
form  a  part  of  the  interior  house  decora- 
tion. The  details  of  gas-piping  and  gas- 
fitting  are  seldom  looked  into,  except  in 
the  case  of  large  and  important  structures, 
such  as  churches,  halls  of  audience  and 
theatres. 

Wherever  gas-light  illumination  is  de- 
ficient, laymen  are  generally  inclined  to 
grumble  about  the  gas-works,  attributing 
the  cause  to  the  poor  quality  of  the  gas 
furnished  by  gas  companies  or  to  lack  of 
pressure  in  the  pipe  system.  There  is,  of 
course,  occasionally  good  reason  for  the 
complaint  that  the  gas  supplied  to  con- 
sumers falls  far  below  the  standard,  but  in 
the  majority  of  cases  the  chief  causes  of 
bad  illumination  may  be  looked  for  in  the 
gas  apparatus  of  dwellings,  in  other  words, 
in  defective  gas-fixtures,  gas-burners,  gas- 
globes  and  gas-piping. 

The  general  public  is  usually  ignorant 
and  indifferent  about  the  subject.  The  gas 
companies,  with  few  exceptions,  do  not 


23 

keep  the  householder  or  gas  consumer  in- 
formed  about  the  ic  mysteries"  of  the 
subject,  although  it  would  be  to  their  in- 
terest, without  doubt,  to  enlighten  the 
public,  and  to  help  them  in  every  way 
possible  to  get  the  maximum  amount  of 
light  and  illumination  from  the  consump- 
tion of  a  given  quantity  of  gas. 

Next  to  plumbing,  heating  and  ventila- 
tion, there  is  no  part  of  interior  house  con- 
struction requiring  as  much  attention  as 
the  gas  piping  and  gas  fitting. 

Gas  piping  in  buildings  should  be  done 
according  to  carefully  drawn  specifications, 
experienced  gas  fitters  should  be  employed 
in  the  work,  no  part  of  the  work  should  be 
"skimped,"  and  the  distribution  system 
with  its  numerous  connections  should  re- 
ceive a  proper  amount  of  attention  on  the 
part  of  the  superintendent  of  the  building  in 
order  to  insure  that  the  gas  fitting  is  done 
right  and  that  there  are  no  defects.  The  gas 
fitter  should  work  from  a  carefully  drawn 
sketch  plan,  showing  the  run  and  distribu- 
tion of  all  gas  service  pipes  in  the  build- 
ing, showing  location  of  the  gas  meter,  or 


the  several  gas  meters  (where  the  building 
is  subdivided  into  suites  of  rooms,  each 
suite  having  its  separate  meter,)  also  the 
location  of  the  main  gas  cock,  or  of  the 
several  shut  offs,  in  the  case  of  large  build- 
ings. The  plan  should  also  indicate  the 
precise  location  of  the  gas  risers,  and  the 
size  of  the  same,  and  in  each  room  and  in 
the  halls  the  side  or  bracket  lights  and  the 
drop  or  centre  lights  should  be  clearly 
marked.  The  number  of  outlets  on  each 
floor,  the  number  of  burners  at  each  out- 
let and  the  sizes  of  pipes  should  also  be 
indicated,  and  the  superintendent  should 
allow  no  deviation  from  the  sizes  specified. 
But,  let  us  inquire  what  the  usual  prac- 
tice in  this  respect  is  ?  A  brief  specifica- 
tion calls  for  "the  house  to  be  piped  for 
gas  in  the  best  manner,  and  according  to 
the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  gas  com- 
pany which  is  to  furnish  the  gas  to  the 
house."  The  work  is,  as  a  rule,  given  out 
by  contract  to  the  lowest  bidder.  In  the 
majority  of  cases  the  gas  fitting  of  a  build- 
ing is  included  in  the  plumber's  work,  and 
in  estimating  for  both  plumbing  and  gas 


25 

fitting  a  small  amount  is  usually  allowed 
for  the  gas  fitting  work.  If  the  contractor 
has  put  in  a  low  bid  for  the  whole  work  to 
cut  out  more  honest  competitors,  the  gas 
fitting  work  is  usually  the  feature  most 
readily  neglected.  Gas  companies  do  not, 
nowadays,  exercise  a  general  supervision 
over  the  piping,  and  rarely  send  a  gas  in- 
spector when  the  pressure  test  is  being  ap- 
plied. The  gas  fitting  is  not  looked  after 
by  the  architect,  and  in  order  not  to  lose 
money  on  his  contract,  the  contractor  buys 
an  inferior  quality  of  gas  pipes  and  fittings, 
reduces  the  sizes  of  all  service  pipes  and 
puts  in  a  much  larger  amount  of  the 
smaller  sizes  of  pipes  than  is  allowed.  The 
jointing  is  done  in  a  slovenly  manner,  and 
the  whole  work  is  usually  put  up  in  a  great 
hurry,  the  gas  fitter  being  notified  at  the 
last  moment  that  the  lather  and  plasterer 
are  waiting.  The  pipes  are  covered  up, 
permanently  hidden  from  sight,  and  buried 
in  plastering  as  soon  as  put  in  place.  The 
testing  of  the  pipes  cannot  be  done  in  a 
thorough  manner,  because  the  gas  fitter  is 
hurried,  and  the  result  is  necessarily  that 


26 


instead  of  obtaining  a  system  of  gas  pipes 
of  proper  size,  properly  run,  properly 
graded,  and  perfectly  tightened,  the  work 
is  more  or  less  defective,  containing  pipes 
of  too  small  calibre,  which  soon  choke  up 
with  rust  and  obstruct  the  flow  of  gas,  split 
pipes,  fittings  full  of  sand  holes,  loose  and 
leaky  pipe  joints,  drops  taken  out  from  the 
bottom  of  running  lines,  bracket  lights 
run  from  overhead  instead  of  from  below, 
condensation  running  into  fixtures  instead 
of  into  risers,  nipples  not  at  right  angles 
to  the  wall  or  ceiling  from  which  they 
project,  distributing  pipes  trapped  by  sag- 
ging, etc.  All  such  errors  in  the  gas  pip- 
ing often  lead  to  an  inadequate  supply  of 
gas  and  subsequent  trouble  with  bad  light. 
Of  course,  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  archi- 
tect's or  superintendent's  duty  to  see  that 
all  this  does  not  happen,  but  there  are  in 
house-building  so  many  other  important 
matters  of  detail  to  be  looked  after,  that 
the  gas  fitter  is  allowed  to  do  as  he  pleases, 
except  as  to  the  exact  location  of  side 
lights  and  chandeliers,  which  are  laid  out 
by  the  architect.  Even  where  a  careful 


gas-fitting  specification  has  been  drawn, 
irresponsible  gas  fitters  will  pay  little  at- 
tention to  its  requirements,  unless  carefully 
and  continually  watched. 

Since  there  is  no  official  inspection  of 
gas  piping  in  most  cities,  smaller  towns, 
villages  and  particularly  in  the  case  of  iso- 
lated country  residences,  the  house  owner 
has  to  rely  almost  entirely  upon  the  honesty 
of  the  gas  fitter,  hence  there  is  wisdom  in 
employing  only  first-class  firms  in  this 
work. 

Aside  from  the  obvious  necessity  of  doing 
gas  piping  in  the  best  manner  in  order  to 
obtain  good  illumination,  defects  in  gas 
piping  should  be  avoided  to  guard  against 
unhealthf  ul  influences,  such  as  gas  leaks,  to 
which  we  shall  refer  hereafter.  A  strict 
inspection  and  supervision  is,  therefore, 
much  to  be  desired  from  a  health  point  of 
view,  and  the  whole  subject  is  properly 
deserving  the  attention  of  those  who  make 
a  specialty  of  sanitary  house  construction. 


28 

GAS  SERVICE  PIPES  AND  GAS  METERS. 

The  gas  service  pipe  by  which  gas  is 
"  laid  on  to  a  house  "  is  always  put  in  by 
the  gas  company.  The  size  of  the  service 
pipe  is  governed  by  the  number  of  burners 
to  be  supplied,  but  the  rule  should  be  laid 
down  that  no  service,  even  for  the  smallest 
house  should  be  less  than  one  inch  inside 
diameter.  While  this  size  is  slightly 
larger  than  called  for  by  the  requirements 
of  small  dwellings,  it  will  prove  more  satis- 
factory in  the  end,  as  such  pipe  is  not  so 
liable  to  stoppages,  and  the  cost  of  using 
the  larger  pipe  is  but  a  trifle  more.  Be- 
sides, it  often  happens  that  additions  are 
subsequently  built  to  the  house,  and  the 
pipes  of  such  houses  often  become  insuf- 
ficient and  inadequate  for  the  service 
which  they  have  to  perform  unless  allow- 
ance is  made  in  the  beginning  for  a  pos- 
sible increase  in  the  number  of  lights.  In 
determining  the  sizes  of  service  pipes — 
and  this  refers  to  the  distributing  pipes  in 
the  house  as  well — it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  where  water  gas  or  naphtha  gas 
is  used,  the  sizes  should  be  increased  15  to 


20  per  cent,   over  those  required  for  coal 
gas. 

The  material  for  the  main  service  pipes 
from  the  street  into  the  house  is  either 
lead  or  wrought  iron.  Cast  iron  pipes 
with  lead  caulked  joints  are  used  only  for 
very  large  buildings,  i.  e.,  those  requiring 
gas  pipes,  four  inches  in  diameter  and  up- 
ward. As  a  rule,  wrought  iron  screw- 
jointed  service  pipe  is  preferred  to  lead, 
at  least  in  America,  probably  because  lead 
pipe  is  liable  to  sag  in  the  trench  and  thus 
create  dips  in  the  pipe,  which  would  accu- 
mulate water  of  condensation  and  thereby 
become  the  cause  of  the  flickering  of  lights, 
or  may  even  cause  the  gas  to  cease  flow- 
ing. Certain  precautions  must,  however, 
be  observed,  in  the  use  of  wrought  iron 
service  pipes,  such  as  laying  the  pipes  in 
trenches  with  a  firm  bottom  and  protect- 
ing the  outside  of  the  pipes  with  asphalt 
or  coal  tar,  where  they  are  laid  in  soils 
containing  acid  or  alkaline  residues,  or 
mixed  with  ashes,  cinders,  furnace  slag  or 
chemical  refuse,  which  cause  a  quick  cor- 
rosion and  destruction  of  the  pipe. 


30 


The  service  pipe  should  preferably  rise 
from  the  street  gas  main  toward  the  house,  in 
order  to  allow  all  condensation  to  run  back 
into  the  mains.  This,  however,  cannot 
always  be  accomplished,  owing  to  the  rela- 
tive levels  of  the  street  main  and  the  gas 
meter  in  the  house.  The  latter  should  be 
placed  in  a  cool,  easily  accessible  and  well- 
lighted  place  at  the  lowest  point  at  which 
gas  is  to  be  burned,  usually  the  cellar, 
which  in  city  houses  is  below  the  level  of 
the  street  gas  main.  It,  therefore,  be- 
comes necessary  to  carry  the  service  pipe  in 
a  descending  line  towards  the  house,  and  a 
drip  pipe,  usually  called  a  "  siphon  "  by 
gas-fitters,  is  put  in  the  cellar,  and  left 
capped.  When  water  accumulates  at  this 
point,  the  cap  is  removed  and  the  pipe 
drained.  Under  no  circumstances  should 
there  be  a  trapped  gas  service  pipe  between 
the  house  and  the  street  main.  The  gas 
company  supplies  and  sets  the  gas  meter, 
usually  a  "  dry  "  meter,  which  is  preferred 
in  America,  because  it  registers  more 
accurately,  requires  less  attention  and  is 
not  as  liable  to  be  injured  or  deranged  in 


31 

frosty  weather  than  a  wet  meter.  The  dry 
meter  is  apt  to  give  trouble  only  where  the 
gas  is  very  impure  and  contains  large 
amounts  of  naphthaline,  causing  the  dia- 
phragm in  the  dry  meter  to  stick.  Tlie 
size  of  the  meter  must,  of  course,  be  in 
proportion  to  the  total  number  of  lights 
supplied,  and  it  is  well  to  obtain  a  gas  meter 
of  ample  capacity.  Occasionally  the  cause 
of  bad  illumination  may  be  found  in  a  gas 
meter  of  insufficient  capacity. 

The  gas  company  usually  places  a  stop 
cock  or  valve  turned  by  a  long  key  on  the 
service  pipe  near  the  curb,  in  order  to  be 
able  to  control  and  shut  off  the  gas  from 
each  building  separately.  This  is  always 
done  on  service  pipes  IK  inches  and  larger, 
and  it  is  insisted  on  by  building  laws  in  the 
case  of  theatres,  but  it  is  well  not  to  omit 
the  shut  off,  even  in  the  use  of  smaller 
services. 

The  meter  is  connected  with  both  the 
service  pipe  and  the  main  house  pipe  by 
means  of  short  connections  of  extra  heavy 
lead  pipe.  A  gas  cock  is  placed  near  the 
meter,  and  in  large  buildings  this  is 


32 

arranged  so  that  a  lock  may  be  attached 
to  it,  when  the  gas  is  shut  off,  the  com- 
pany retaining  the  key  to  the  lock.  Globe 
valves  as  well  as  stop  cocks  do  not  open  to 
the  full  capacity  of  the  service  pipe,  hence 
straight- way  or  gate  valves  on  gas  service 
pipes  which  give  an  unrestricted  flow  of 
gas  are  much  to  be  preferred. 

GAS  DISTRIBUTING  PIPES. 
The  gas  pipes  inside  of  a  house  are, 
as  a  rule,  wrought  iron  pipes,  except 
where  carried  exposed  in  offices,  or  on 
walls  lined  with  enameled  brick  or  tiles, 
when  copper  or  polished  brass  pipes  are 
sometimes  used.  In  England  and  on  the 
Continent  lead  and  composition  pipes  are 
much  used,  occasionally  even  block  tin 
pipes,  but  in  America,  all  soft  metal  pipes 
are  considered  objectionable  for  the  same 
reasons  which  in  plumbing  work  govern  the 
preference  of  heavy  iron  to  lead  soil  and 
waste  pipes.  All  soft  metal  pipes,  if  used 
for  gas,  are  liable  to  sag  and  have  depres- 
sions, accumulating  water  of  condensation. 
When  carried  under  floors  or  buried  in 


33 


walls  or  in  partitions,  they  are  very  liable 
to  have  picture  or  other  nails  driven  into 
them  by  careless  workmen.  In  places 
acessible  to,  or  frequented  by  rats,  exposed 
lead  pipes  are  liable  to  be  gnawed,  and 
finally  they  melt  quickly  during  a  fire, 
thus  adding  fuel  to  the  flames. 

The  chief  requirements  of  plain  wrought 
iron  pipes  for  distributing  gas  are  that 
they  are  carefully  welded  and  that  they 
are  perfectly  round  and  regular  in  section. 
The  fact  that  gas  pipes  often  split  in  cut- 
ting or  threading  them  on  the  pipe  bench, 
and  that  in  testing  gas  piping,  lengths  are 
occasionally  found  with  flaws  at  the  weld, 
will  be  better  understood  when  it  is  con- 
sidered how  such  wrought  iron  pipes  are 
manufactured  at  the  mills. 

Long  strips  of  wrought  iron  varying 
slightly  in  thickness  and  of  different 
widths  corresponding  to  the  diameter  of 
the  pipes,  are  bent  into  a  circle.  When 
the  two  ends  or  butts  of  the  iron  meet,  the 
same  are,  while  still  hot,  welded  together 
under  pressure.  It  is,  therefore,  apparent 
that  the  weld  is  the  weakest  part  of  the 


34 


pipe  and  that  it  must  be  done  with  partic- 
ular care  and  skill.  Where  pipes  are  re- 
quired to  stand  a  great  internal  pressure, 
as  when  used  to  convey  water  or  steam 
under  pressure,  the  welding  is  rendered 
stronger  by  overlapping  one  butt  over  the 
other,  and  the  pipe  is  accordingly  called 
"  lapwelded  "  pipe.  Gas  pipes  are  not  re- 
quired to  withstand  any  strong  internal 
pressure;  nevertheless  the  welding  should 
be  perfect,  and  hence  it  is  better  to  use, 
at  least  for  sizes  above  \/i  inch,  lapwelded 
gas  pipe.  The  smaller  sizes,  from  %  inch 
up  to  1/4  inch  are  buttwelded.  Pipes 
should  be  examined  for  such  defects  by 
hammer  test  and  sounding. 

The  other  requirement,  namely  that  the 
pipe  should  be  perfectly  circular  in  sec- 
tion, is  equally  important.  All  gas  pipes 
are  put  together  with  screw  joints,  a 
thread  being  cut  upon  the  outside  of  the 
pipe.  Where  the  pipe  contour  is  irregular 
the  threading  will  be  more  or  less  imper- 
fect, and  as  a  result  there  will  be  defective 
joints.  A  good  gas-fitter  must,  therefore, 
examine  all  gas  pipes  as  delivered  at  the 


35 


building,  and  observe  either  by  the  eye  or 
by  means  of  calipers  the  regularity  of  the 
section.  In  some  cases  it  is  advisable  to 
cut  test  threads.  All  defective  pipe, 
whether  imperfect  in  welding  or  in  con- 
tour, should  be  rejected  and  at  once  re- 
moved from  the  building.  In  this  as  in  so 
many  other  matters,  the  contractor  can 
protect  himself,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent, 
by  buying  his  pipe  from  reputable  firms 
only,  who  are  known  to  be  reliable,  and  by 
insisting  that  all  pipes  be  tested  under 
hydrostatic  pressure  at  the  pipe  mills  be- 
fore being  delivered  at  the  building. 

Plain  wrought,  iron  pipe  is  liable  to 
corrode  and  to  rust  on  the  inside,  especially 
where  the  gas  supplied  is  imperfectly  puri- 
fied, and  the  smaller  sizes  are  particularly 
liable  to  become  obstructed.  At  the  foot 
of  vertical  risers  and  branches  the  iron 
scale  is  very  apt  to  lodge,  and  hence  it 
may  be  advisable  to  use,  under  certain 
conditions,  pipes  made  rustless,  either  by 
the  Bower-Barff  process  or  by  galvanizing 
in  the  best  possible  manner.  In  practice  it 
is  found  that  the  danger  of  rust  is  confined 


36 

to  the  smaller  sizes,  hence  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  use  pipes  protected  against  rust, 
for  the  main  riser  and  the  larger  distribu- 
tion pipes.  Still,  where  economy  is  no 
object,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  preferable  to 
use  rustless  gas  pipes  throughout,  and  I 
have  had  many  first-class  residences  piped 
in  this  manner  with  the  best  results. 

PIPE  FITTINGS  AND  PIPE  JOINTS. 
In  joining  together  lengths  of  wrought 
iron  gas  pipes,  certain  fittings  are  used,  for 
instance  sockets  or  couplings  for  straight 
runs,  and  elbows,  tees  and  crosses  for 
changes  of  direction  and  for  taking  out 
branch  pipes.  Other  fittings  not  so  ex- 
tensively used,  are  the  union,  the  flange 
union,  the  running  socket  and  the  right 
and  left  couplings,  the  latter  used  whers 
pipes  can  be  sprung.  These  fittings  are 
either  of  cast  iron,  or  of  malleable  iron,  the 
latter  preferred  for  the  smaller  sizes.  Fit- 
tings may  be  galvanized  or  made  rustless 
by  the  Bower-Barff  process,  and  it  is  par- 
ticularly necessary  that  sandholes  be 
avoided  in  all  cast  fittings. 


37 


In  making  pipe  joints  the  gas  fitter 
should  make  use  of  red  lead  or  red  and 
white  lead  mixed  on  all  joints  to  make  up 
for  any  possible  imperfections  in  the 
threads;  but  I  may  here  remark  that  I 
consider  the  dipping  into,  or  filling  of 
fittings  with,  red  lead  objectionable  as 
having  a  tendency  to  reduce  the  full  bore 
of  the  pipe.  The  use  of  gas  fitters'  cement 
on  pipe  joints  should  be  absolutely  pro- 
hibited. It  is  also  important  that  each 
length  should  be  screwed  entirely  home 
before  the  next  length  is  put  on.  It  is  al- 
ways a  wise  precaution,  in  putting  the 
gas-piping  together,  to  examine  every 
length  of  pipe  carefully  to  make  sure 
against  any  obstructions  on  the  inside  of 
the  pipe. 

How  TO  RUN  GAS  PIPES  IN  BUILDINGS. 

The  proper  manner  of  running  the  gas 
distributing  pipes  in  a  building  is  suf- 
ficiently explained  in  a  subjoined  "  Spec- 
ification for  Gas  Piping,"  and  a  few  hints 
given  here  may  suffice. 


38 


It  should  be  the  rule  to  keep  all  large 
gas  risers  exposed,  instead  of  burying  them 
in  the  walls  or  plaster,  and  to  arrange  the 
piping  as  much  as  possible  so  as  to  be 
readily  got  at.  All  horizontal  distributing 
pipes  must  run  with  an  even,  though  slight 
pitch  toward  the  riser,  and  all  depressions 
in  such  pipes  must  be  avoided  as  tending 
to  collect  water  and  forming  traps,  hence 
pipes  should  be  firmly  supported  at  fre- 
quent intervals,  particularly  the  smaller 
sizes  which  are  not  as  stiff  and  easily  sag 
or  bend  in  the  middle.  Floor  boards  over 
all  horizontal  gas  pipes  should  prefera- 
bly be  fastened  down  with  brass  screws 
to  admit  of  easy  removal  for  alterations, 
inspections  or  repairs.  When  it  becomes 
unavoidable  to  trap  a  pipe,  a  drip  with 
drain  cock  must  be  put  in,  but  this  should 
be  avoided  under  floors,  and  always  put 
in  an  accessible  position,  for  occasional  re- 
moval of  the  condensed  water  or  deposit 
of  pitch  which  collect  in  the  drip.  The 
gas  litter  must  use  his  best  judgment  in 
substituting  at  suitable  points  cross  pieces 
instead  of  Tee  branches,  and  closing  the 


39 


opening  of  the  cross  opposite  the  branch 
by  means  of  a  plug  forming  a  cleaning 
cap.  All  these  precautions  are  particularly 
necessary  where  the  gas  is  apt  to  leave  de- 
posits of  tarry  matter  or  naphthaline  in 
the  pipes  which  cause  obstructions  and  re- 
quire in  their  removal  the  use  of  a  force 
pump. 

The  proper  size  for  all  distribution  pipes 
should  be  regulated  by  a  table  of  sizes, 
one  of  which  is  given  in  the  appended 
specification,  while  another  may  be  found 
in  the  Munich  gas  rules  at  the  end  of  the 
book.  Both  tables,  which  the  writer  has 
applied  in  many  cases  in  his  own  practice, 
give  sizes  slightly  larger  than  required  for 
coal  gas,  but  it  is  always  poor  economy  to 
use  pipes  of  too  small  calibre,  which  soon 
become  insufficient  to  furnish  the  quantity 
of  gas  required  at  burners,  particularly  at 
chandeliers  and  Argand  burners.  It  should 
be  a  rule  that  no  pipe  for  a  drop  light 
should  be  less  than  ^  inch  in  diameter, 
and  no  pipe  for  side  lights  less  than  % 
inch. 


40 

TESTING  GAS  PIPES. 

As  soon  as  the  gas  piping  is  completed 
it  should  be  tested  by  means  of  a  £as  fit- 

J  o 

ter's  pump  and  manometer  or  mercury 
gauge.  Before  proceeding  with  the  pipe 
testing  all  deviations  from  the  true  position 
of  nipples  for  brackets  or  centre  lights 
must  be  rectified.  In  the  case  of  large 
buildings,  the  gas  fitter  should  preferably 
test  the  pipe  system  in  sections,  one  iioor 
at  the  time,  and  afterwards,  when  all  floors 
are  connected  with  the  main  riser  or  risers, 
the  whole  system  should  be  subjected  to  a 
final  strong  test  in  the  presence  of  the 
architect,  engineer  or  a  gas  company's  in- 
spector, who  furnishes  a  certificate  to  the 
owner.  All  leakage  reveale.d  by  the  test 
should  be  at  once  repaired,  avoiding  en- 
tirely the  use  of  gas  fitter's  cement,  which 
cracks  and  breaks  off  very  easily,  or  melts 
from  heat  where  gas-pipes  are  located  in 
close  proximity  to  steam-pipes.  The  test 
must  then  be  repeated  until  the  whole  sys- 
tem is  perfectly  air  tight  under  an  air  pres- 
sure of  from  15  to  20  inches  of  mercury. 


This  testing  of  gas-pipes  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  prevent  subsequent  annoy- 
ance, trouble  and  danger  from  gas  leaks, 
resulting  from  pin  holes  in  pipes,  sand 
holes  in  fittings,  split  pipe,  loose  joints,  im- 
perfect threads,  or  outlets  carelessly  left 
without  capping. 

Regarding  the  careful  proving  of  gas- 
piping  in  buildings  in  course  of  erection, 
as  well  as  in  buildings  already  completed 
and  occupied,  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote 
the  following  clear  description,  given  in 
the  Sanitary  Engineer  and  Building  Rec- 
ord, Vol.  XL,  May  14,  1885: 

"  If  the  house  is  in  progress  of  construc- 
tion, see  that  all  the  outlets  are  carefully 
closed  with  caps,  and  that  the  foot  of  the 
rising  line  is  stopped.  Then  at  any  con- 
venient side-light  attach  the  ordinary  gas- 
fitters'  pump,  which  is  simply  an  air-pump. 
To  the  same  side-light,  or  an  adjacent  one, 
attach  the  mercury-column  gauge  used  by 
gas-fitters  with  a  column  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  inches  in  length. 

"  Great  care  must  be  now  taken  to  prove 
that  there  are  no  leaks  in  the  gauge  or  its 


connections  or  cock,  and  in  the  pump  and 
hose  connection,  and  a  good  cock  should 
be  used  between  the  permanent  gas-pipe 
and  any  temporary  connections  to  pump, 
so  that  it  may  be  closed  immediately  after 
the  pumping  stops,  to  prevent  back-leak- 
age of  air  through  the  pump-valves  or 
hose-joints. 

. "  When  all  is  complete,  pump  the  pipe 
system  in  the  house  full  of  air  until  the 
mercury  rises  at  least  twelve  inches.  Then 
close  the  intermediate  cock  before  men- 
tioned, and  should  the  mercury  column  be 
found  to  "  stand  "  for  five  minutes,  it  is 
reasonable  to  assume  that  the  pipes  are 
sufficiently  air  and  gas  tight  for  any  pres- 
sure they  can  afterwards  be  subjected  to. 
But  it  is  the  rule  in  the  most  carefully 
done  gas-pipe  work  to  find  the  mercury 
will  not  "  stand,"  as  there  will  be  leaks 
that  would  escape  the  most  careful  work- 
man, it  is  necessary  then  to  locate  them. 

"  Should  there  prove  to  be  a  very  large 
leak,  it  will  be  apparent  at  once,  as  it  will 
be  impossible  to  get  a  pressure  worth  con- 


43 

sidering,  the  mercury  simply  bobbing  up 
and  down  in  the  tube. 

"It  may  be  an  outlet  that  has  been 
neglected  to  be  closed,  or  it  may  be  a  long 
split  in  the  pipe.  If  the  former,  and  very 
close  to  the  pump,  the  mercury  will  not 
respond;  but  should  it  be  far  away,  with 
considerable  length  of  pipe  to  cause  resist- 
ance, the  mercury  will  jump  and  return  as 
suddenly.  But  should  there  be  a  split  pipe 
ov  an  aggregation  of  small  leaks,  the  mer- 
cury will  run  back  steadily,  though  slower 
than  it  rises,  between  the  strokes  of  the 
pump.  Should  it  rise  well  in  the  glass 
and  sink  at  the  rate  of  about  one  inch  in 
five  seconds,  small  leaks  only  in  fittings  or 
joints  may  then  be  anticipated.  Of  course? 
there  are  exceptions  to  these  rules,  which 
are  only  for  general  guidance. 

"  To  locate  a  leak,  then,  that  cannot  be 
heard  blowing,  strong  soap  water  applied 
with  a  brush  or  sponge  may  be  used.  The 
liquid  is  rubbed  over  suspected  joints  or 
fittings  and  air-bubbles  are  blown  by  the 
escaping  air. 


44 

"  Sometimes  it  becomes  necessary  to  use 
ether  in  the  pipes  in  locating  leaks,  if  the 
pipes  are  under  floors  or  in  partitions.  The 
ether  is  put  into  a  bend  of  the  hose  or  into 
a  cup  attached  to  the  pipe  and  blown  into 
the  pipes  with  the  air.  By  following  the 
lines  of  the  pipes  the  approximate  position 
of  a  leak  may  then  be  determined  by  the 
odor  of  escaping  ether. 

"  In  very  large  work  it  is  well  to  prove 
a  floor  at  a  time,  and  when  all  are  done, 
connect  them  with  the  riser  and  prove  as  a 
whole. 

u  The  best  thing  for  making  pipes  tight 
for  coal-gas  is  gas-fitters'  cement,  which  is 
a  common  grade  of  sealing-wax.  The 
threads  of  the  pipes  should  be  immersed 
in  it  when  warm  and  let  drain,  and  the 
fittings  also  are  sometimes  so  treated.  To 
put  the  pipes  and  fittings  together  both 
are  warmed  and  screwed  tightly  and 
allowed  to  cool.  Porous  places  incidental 
to  malleable  iron  or  shrinkage-cracks  in 
malleable  iron  fittings  are  generally 
stopped  with  this  cement,  but  a  split  or 


45 


crack  should  never  be  so  mended,  as  it  will 
be  an  element  of  danger.* 

"  For  naphtha-gases  some  of  the  heavy 
body  asphaltum  varnishes  are  considered 
best,  such  as  black  air-drying  japan,  or 
black  baking  japan,  but  paraffirie  varnish 
should  not  be  used.  To  use  the  japans 
both  threads  of  pipes  and  fittings  should 
be  dipped  in  them  and  drained,  and  the 
japan  should  be  applied  with  a  brush  when 
putting  them  together,  the  same  as  using 
lead.  Red  and  white  lead  are  also  good, 
but  are  with  more  difficulty  made  air-tight. 

"  If  the  house  is  an  old  one,  or  has  been 
finished,  and  you  have  to  test  for  leaks, 
take  off  the  meter  and  cap  the  bottom  of 
the  riser;  also  unhang  the  gas-fixtures  and 
remove  the  brackets,  and  cap  all  outlets 
carefully.  Then  use  ether  and  locate 
leaks  before  tearing  up  floors  or  breaking 
plaster. 


*  The  author  cannot  endorse  this  recommendation  of 
the  use  of  gas-fitters'  cement.  He,  on  the  contrary,  con- 
sult rs  it  a  dangerous  practice,  which  should  be  prohibited 
strictly,  for  such  cement  is  liable  to  crack  and  break  when 
cold,  and  when  exposed  to  the  heat  of  steam-pipes  it  is  apt 
to  melt  at  any  time,  and  hence  joints  made  tight  with  gas- 
fitters'  cement  cannot  be  relied  upon  to  remain  so. 


46 

"  The  mercury  should  be  made  to  stand 
— remain  stationary  in  the  glass — if  pos- 
sible, before  the  work  is  passed,  but  a  fall 
of  one  inch  of  mercury  in  an  hour  would 
indicate  a  comparatively  tight  job. 

"  Occasionally,  when  a  gas-fitter  cannot 
get  a  job  tight,  there  is  a  possibility  he 
may  cut  off  the  part  or  floor  of  the  build- 
ing he  cannot  get  sufficiently  tight  to  suit 
the  inspector's  idea  of  perfection.  The  in- 
spector can  only  prove  such  practice  by  re- 
moving or  slacking  off  a  cap  here  or  there 
about  the  house  if  he  suspects  such  an  at- 
tempt. If  no  air  escapes,  then  he  has  the 
dead  end." 

Mr.  William  Eassie,  the  well  known 
English  sanitary  expert,  writes  on  this  sub- 
ject in  his  "  Sanitary  Arrangements  of 
Dwellings  "  as  follows : 

"  In  England  as  a  rule,  we  are  culpably 
careless  about  our  gas  supply.  A  gas  com- 
pany, for  instance,  receives  notice  that  the 
service  of  such  and  such  a  house  is  ready 
to  be  connected  with  their  main,  and  when 
they  have  obtained  a  signed  agreement 
setting  forth  who  is  responsible  for  pay- 


ment,  the  meter  is  connected  forthwith, 
and  there  is  an  end  of  it.  The  gasfitter 
may  have  done  many  things  badly,  and 
not  done  some  things  at  all,  but  the  gas 
company  seldom,  very  rarely  ever,  exer- 
cises any  jurisdiction.  The  gasfitter  next 
sends  in  his  account,  which  is  paid,  and 
when  the  smell  of  escaped  gas  from  some 
faulty  portion  of  the  pipes  has  become  un- 
bearable, he  is  sent  for  to  remedy  it,  and 
charges  for  the  rectification.  The  work- 
man may  be  thoroughly  incompetent,  as 
gasfitting  is  not,  as  it  should  be,  a  separate 
trade.  Indeed,  the  artisan  who  performed 
the  work  may  be  a  blacksmith,  whitesmith, 
glazier,  brazier,  plumber,  bellhanger,  and 
gasfitter  all  rolled  into  one. 

"  A  gas-titter  who  is  a  gas-fitter,  and  who 
understands  his  business,  will  never  take 
leave  of  a  house  until  he  has  tested  the 
pipes  for  leakage.  Where  this  trouble  is 
taken,  the  ordinary  practice  among  us  is  as 
follows: — When  the  pipes  have  been  laid 
throughout  the  house,  and  the  company's 
main  connected  to  the  meter,  a  temporary 
burner  is  fixed  to  each  floor  of  the  house, 


48 


and  the  gas  is  turned  on.  The  gas  is  now- 
ignited  at  these  trial  jets  and  allowed  to 
burn  for  some  little  time.  The  main  is 
then  turned  off,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
exact  reading  of  the  index  is  taken.  When 
the  gas  left  in  the  pipes  has  burnt  uut,  the 
taps  of  the  experimental  lights  are  turned 
off,  and  if,  after  the  lapse  of  an  hour  or  so, 
the  dial  of  the  meter  continues  to  indicate 
a  consumption  of  gas,  it  is  plain  that  it 
somewhere  escapes,  and  the  leak  is  searched 
for  by  the  sense  of  smell,  &c.,  and  remed- 
ied." 

The  same  writer  describes  his  own  prac- 
tice of  testing  gaspipes  as  follows :  — 

"  Before  the  gas-fitter  asks  the  gas  com- 
pany to  make  the  connection  with  their 
main,  he  sets  about  proving  the  pipes.  He 
stops  up,  with  one  exception,  all  the  out- 
lets which  have  been  left  for  brackets  and 
pendants  with  plugs  or  with  screwed  caps. 
On  the  one  not  so  stopped  he  attaches  a 
force-pump,  into  the  interior  of  which  has 
been  put  a  few  drops  of  sulphuric  ether. 
This  pump  is  now  connected  with  a  gauge, 
and  it  is  then  set  to  work,  generally  until 


49 


a  high  pressure  is  registered.  A  high 
pressure  in  a  gas-pipe  at  first  appears  un- 
necessary, but  gasfitters  know  very  well 
that  iron  pipes  have  many  latent  weak- 
nesses, so  to  speak — seams  just  ready  to 
open,  pinholes  filled  with  grease,  <fec., 
which  might  not  drop  out  for  years,  and 
a  good  pressure  exerted  would  rip  up  the 
one  and  cause  the  others  to  fall  out.  When 
the  gauge  indicates  a  certain  figure,  there- 
fore, the  pumping  ceases,  and  if  the  mer- 
cury falls,  it  is  evident  that  there  is  one  or 
more  palpable  leaks,  which  are  at  once 
sought  for,  The  escaped  ether  will  guide 
the  fitter  to  these,  and  the  defaulting  pipes 
are  replaced  by  others.  The  pumping  is 
now  continued,  and  the  same  routine  re- 
commences. If  the  mercury  still  descends 
and  it  cannot  be  detected,  even  by  the 
sense  of  smell,  the  joints  are  separately 
lathered  over  with  soap,  whereupon  the 
weak  places  will  be  indicated  by  bubbles. 
These  parts  are  then  marked,  heated  by 
means  of  a  portable  spirit  lamp,  made  for 
the  purpose,  and  covered  over  with  an  ap- 
proved and  durable  cement.  When  the 


50 


Inspector  arrives,  the  pump  Is  once  more 
set  in  action,  and  as  the  pipes  are  now 
tight,  he  has  simply  to  cast  an  eye  upon 
the  gauge,  the  column  of  which  no  longer 
shows  signs  of  sinking;  examine,  as  be- 
fore mentioned,  how  the  pipes  have  been 
laid,  and  sign  the  requisite  order." 

GAS  LEAKS. 

We  must  now  consider  more  in  detail 
the  injurious  effects  of  gas  leaks  in  dwell- 
ings. Leakage  of  gas  may  be  caused  either 
by  defective  gaspiping  or  by  worn  out 
burners,  or  by  badly  jointed  fixture  con- 
nections, or  finally  by  imperfect,  loose  or 
worn  stops  or  keys  of  gas  fixtures.  The 
first  cause  has  been  discussed  in  detail 
heretofore,  and  of  the  latter  causes  and  the 
best  way  to  avoid  them  we  shall  speak 
more  fully  hereafter. 

Escape  of  coal  gas  into  houses  also  takes 
place  from  broken  or  defective  gas  mains 
in  the  streets,  particularly  in  winter  time 
when  the  road  surface  is  frozen  hard,  and 
when  owing  to  the  heating  of  the  houses 
these  act  like  chimneys,  as  it  were,  draw- 


51 


ing  gases  from  the  soil  upwards  into  the 
living  rooms.  Many  cases  of  poisoning  by 
coal  gas  and  not  a  few  cases  of  gas  ex- 
plosions due  to  this  cause  are  on  record, 
but  we  must  dismiss  the  subject  with  these 
few  words  as  we  have  reference  here  only 
to  gas  leaks  existing  inside  of  a  building 
owing  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  above 
mentioned  defects. 

All  gas  leakages  must  be  looked  upon 
as  harmful  from  three  different  points  of 
view.  First,  as  regards  the  pocketbook  of 
the  consumer,  for  all  gas  escaping  unburnt 
through  leakages  is  registered  at  the  gas- 
meter.  Hence  arise  frequent  complaints 
of  exorbitant  gas  bills  and  the  general  and 
often  unjustified  distrust  of  householders 
against  the  meter. 

Fortunately,  larger  leaks,  especially  at 
the  gas  fixtures  are  soon  announced  and 
easily  detected  owing  to  the  well-known 
pungent  odor  of  the  escaping  gas.  Not 
so,  however,  with  small  hidden  leaks 
which  may  go  on  unperceived,  often  for 
years,  being  comparatively  odorless  and 
causing  not  only  a  useless  increase  of  gas 


bills,  but  what  is  much  more  important,  a 
steady  and  injurious  contamination  of  the 
air  of  rooms.  We  must,  therefore,  regard 
gas  leaks,  second,  in  their  injurious  effects 
on  the  health  of  human  beings. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  carbonic 
oxide  forms  one  of  the  components  of  illu- 
minating gas.  This  gas  is  well-known  to 
be  a  deadly  poison,  causing  asphyxia  and 
death  if  enhaled  in  large  quantities,  while 
if  present  in  the  air  we  breathe  in  smaller 
volume,  it  is  the  cause  of  headache,  nausea 
and  giddiness,  and  will  in  course  of  time 
show  its  steady  and  injurious  influence  up- 
on those  members  of  the  household  who 
live  the  greater  part  of  their  lives  indoors. 
In"  coal  gas  the  percentage  of  carbonic 
oxide  averages  7  to  8  per  cent,  while  in 
water  gas  the  proportion  is  much  higher, 
being  in  the  average  about  25  per  cent. 
This  explains  the  greater  danger  incident 
to  the  more  recently  introduced  water 
gas.  * 

*  For  a  very  interesting  account  of  the  relative  poisonous 
effects  of  coal  and  water  gas,  the  reader  is  referred  to  tho 
investigation  of  Profs.  W.  T.  Sedgwick  and  W.  Ripley 
Nichols,  published  in  the  Sixth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Hcal.h  (1885). 


53 

Long  ago,  Mr.  Wm.  Eassie,  the  well- 
known  English  sanitary  engineer,  stated 
that  if  it  were  a  rule  in  all  towns  to  have 
the  gasfitters  carry  a  certificate  of  com- 
petency much  sickness,  according  to  many 
eminent  physicians,  would  be  prevented. 
Dr.  B.  W.  Richardson,  a  well-known  Eng- 
lish sanitarian  and  authority,  called  atten- ' 
tion  to  this  matter  by  stating  that  wher- 
ever carbonic  oxide  becomes  diffused  in 
small  quantities  either  through  leaky  pipes 
or  defective  burners  and  gas  fixtures  into 
the  air  of  badly  ventilated  rooms  or  work- 
shops, it  becomes  a  common  cause  of  ner- 
vous derangement  and  dyspepsia. 

More  recently,  Prof.  W.  H.  Corfield,  at 
a  meeting  of  the  London  Society  of  Medi- 
cal Officers  of  Health  read  a  very  interest- 
ing paper  entitled  "  Outbreaks  of  sore 
throats  caused  by  slight  escapes  of  coal 
gas,"  an  abstract  of  which  is  given  in  the 
May  16, 1887,  issue  of  the  London  Sanitary 
Record. 

He  pointed  out  first  that  in  considering 
the  deleterious  effects  of  escapes  of  coal 
gas  into  dwelling  rooms,  attention  has 


54 


hitherto  been  almost  entirely  directed  to 
cases  of  poisoning  by  asphyxia,  due  to  the 
carbonic  oxide  contained  in  the  coal  gas. 
Prof.  Corfield  next  stated  that  during  the 
past  few  years  his  attention  had  been  gradu- 
ally arrested  by  cases  of  illness  and  more  es- 
pecially of  relaxed  and  even  of  ulcerated 
sore  throats,  occurring  in  persons  sleeping  in 
rooms  in  which  there  were  defective  gas 
burners  or  pipes,  but  living  in  houses  of 
which  the  sanitary  condition  was  otherwise 
as  perfect  as  the  application  of  modern 
sanitary  knowledge  could  make  them. 
That  the  slight  escapes  of  coal  gas  were 
the  cause  of  the  sore  throats  was  proven  by 
the  fact  that  the  persons  attacked  became 
quite  well  on  the  defects  in  the  gas  bur- 
ners or  pipes  being  remedied.  He,  there- 
fore, had  no  doubts  that  the  cause  of  the 
sore  throats  was  the  breathing  for  weeks 
or  months,  especially  at  night,  of  air  con- 
taminated with  a  small  proportion  of  coal 
gas,  and  believed  that  the  effective  agents 
in  producing  the  irritation  in  the  throat 
were  the  bisulphide  of  carbon  and  other 
sulphur  compounds  contained  in  the  gas. 


He  was  convinced  that  in  numerous 
instances  these  ulcerated  throats  were 
thought  to  be  due  to  foul  air  from  drains 
when  they  were  really  due  to  escapes  from 
gas  pipes  or  gas  fixtures. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  the 
reading  of  this  paper,  Mr.  Rogers  Field, 
M.  Inst.  C.  E.,  referred  to  numerous  cases 
in  his  practice  as  sanitary  engineer,  where 
offensive  smells  attributed  to  defective 
drainage,  were  found  to  be  due  to  escapes 
of  gas.  He,  therefore,  made  it  a  practice 
always  to  have  the  gas  pipes  tested  and 
made  thoroughly  sound  after  the  drainage 
of  a  house  had  been  reconstructed.  He 
found  the  only  effectual  method  of  testing 
the  gas  pipes  and  fittings  to  be  to  attach  a 
pressure  gauge  and  then  pump  air  into  the 
pipes.  If  the  gauge  stood  the  pipes  were 
sound;  if  it  fell,  there  was  a  leakage  which 
had  to  be  found  out  and  remedied,  and  the 
work  was  not  left  as  completed  until  the 
pressure  gauge  would  stand. 

The  writer  could  quote  several  instances 
from  his  own  practice  where  plumbing 
work  thought  to  be  defective  was  found 


56 

after  careful  inspection  to  be  tight  and  in 
good  condition,  whereas  the  bad  odors 
complained  of  were  traced  to  leakage  from 
furnace  smoke  flues,  or  to  leakage  of  illum- 
inating gas.  It  is  somewhat  unfortunate 
that  of  late  years  it  has  become  customary 
to  raise  the  cry  of  "  sewer  gas  "  whenever 
any  contamination  of  the  house  air  is 
noticed.  While  it  is  true  that  defective 
plumbing  work  is,  in  many  instances, 
without  doubt,  the  cause  of  bad  odors  in 
houses,  the  contamination  of  the  air  and 
noxious  smells  are  also  not  infrequently 
traceable  directly  to  other  sources,  such  as 
leaks  in  the  joints  of  furnaces,  or  leaks 
in  brick  smoke  flues,  or  finally  leaks  in 
the  gas  piping,  or  at  the  gas  burners  and 
fixtures. 

Thirdly,  gas  leaks  become  objectionable 
owing  to  the  accompanying  danger  of  an 
explosion.  When  illuminating  gas  escapes 
unburnt  from  a  gas  burner,  or  from  a 
leaky  pipe- joint  or  defective  fitting,  it 
mixes  with  the  air  in  the  room  and  when 
this  mixture  reaches  a  certain  proportion  it 
becomes  explodible.  Hence  the  rule  should 


always  be  observed  when  an  escape  of 
gas  is  noticed,  never  to  search  for  the 
leak  with  a  light.  A  gas  meter  has  often 
slight  leaks  at  the  couplings,  and,  there- 
fore, a  meter  should  never  be  examined 
except  in  day  light.  It  is  astound- 
ing how  often  in  every  day  life  these 
plain  rules*  are  violated  even  by  intelligent 
mechanics.  Gas  explosions  often  occur 
with  very  fatal  results  to  life  and  property. 
Many  fires  owe  their  origin  to  such  ac- 
cidents, and  the  greatest  care  should  there- 
fore, be  observed  to  prevent  them  by  avoid- 
ing all  leakages. 

PRECAUTIONS  AGAINST  DANGER  FROM  FIRE. 

Much  ignorance  prevails  among  the  pub- 
lic as  well  as  among  builders  as  to  certain 
precautions  which  must  be  observed  to 
render  gas  lighting  safe  from  the  point  of 
view  of  fire.  A  few  hints  regarding  pre- 
vention of  fires  from  this  cause  may  not 
seem  out  of  place  here. 

First,  the  house  owner  or  householder 
should  ascertain  that  the  system  of  gas 
piping  is  perfectly  sound  and  tight,  and 


58 


kept  as  much  as  possible  accessible  for 
occasional  inspections,  also  that  the  burn- 
ers and  fixtures  do  not  leak. 

Next,  great  care  should  be  exercised  in 
every  household  in  the  use  of  matches  for 
lighting  the  gas.  Matches  should  always  be 
kept  in  closed  earthen  or  metallic  vessels 
or  boxes,  and  it  is  a  wise  precaution  to 
provide  a  second  receptacle  to  receive 
burnt  matches.  Matches  must  be  kept  out 
of  reach  of  children,  as  well  as  rats  and 
mice,  which  latter  seem  to  have  a  special 
preference  for  phosphorus  and  often  carry 
matches  into  hiding  places  under  floors  or 
behind  baseboards  or  wainscoting  and 
«ause  the  matches  to  ignite  by  gnawing  at 
them.  So-called  parlor  matches  of  wood 
or  wax  are  particularly  dangerous,  as  they 
easily  ignite  by  friction.  Safety  matches1 
such  as  the  Swedish,  which  can  only  be 
ignited  on  specially  prepared  surfaces  are 
much  better.  For  lighting  chandeliers 
wax  tapers  are  preferable  to  matches.  A 
still  better,  more  convenient  and  safer  ar- 
rangement for  lighting  up  gas  consists  in 
the  use  of  portable  safety-lighters,  either 


59 


mechanical  or  electric  torches.  The  best 
method  is,  undoubtedly,  a  well  arranged 
system  of  electric  gas  lighting  with  au- 
tomatic or  pull-burners,  and  it  is  to  be  re- 
commended, in  building  new  houses,  to 
wire  all  gas  outlets  for  it. 

Other  precautions  against  fire  relate  to 
the  construction  and  location  of  gas 
fixtures.  All  side  or  bracket  lights  should 
be  kept  at  a  safe  distance  from  windows, 
doors  or  other  inflammable  woodwork,  and 
from  curtains,  portieres,  lace  work  or  other 
hangings.  Lights  in  exposed  positions 
should  always  be  enclosed  in  glass  globes 
because  strong  draughts  of  air  will  some- 
times blow  unprotected  flames  sideways 
very  far  endangering  combustible  objects 
near  by.  Swinging  or  folding  bracket- 
lights  are  particularly  dangerous  and 
should  be  avoided  wherever  possible,  par- 
ticularly on  stud  partitions  or  cabinet  wood- 
work, and  rigid  brackets  should  be  used 
instead.  If  swinging  gasbrackets  must  be 
used  they  should  be  fitted  with  guardrings 
of  large  diameter.  Even  fixed  bracket- 
lights  should  never  be  so  placed  that  an 


60 


opening  door  would  come  into  contact  with 
the  gasjet. 

Portable  gas  fixtures,  connected  with  rub- 
ber tubing  to  a  wall  gas  outlet  or  to  a  chan- 
delier are  also,  to  some  extent,  dangerous 
and  must  be  handled  with  care. 

There  should  always  be  a  distance  of 
three  feet  between  all  burners  and  the 
ceiling  or  woodwork,  and  in  places  having 
low  ceilings  metal,  glass  or  porcelain  bells 
or  shields  should  be  hung  over  the  flame 
tu  protect  inflammable  ceilings,  and  in- 
cidentally to  prevent  the  ceiling  from  be- 
coming smoky  owing  to  accumulations  of 
small  particles  of  unconsumed  carbon.  If 
shields  are  used  the  minimum  distance  be- 
tween burner  and  ceiling  should  be  18 
inches. 

In  basements,  and  in  the  servants'  de- 
partment of  a  house  generally,  such  as 
the  kitchen,  laundry,  ironing  room,  linen 
closet,  wardrobes,  and  all  other  places  where 
inflammable  articles  of  wearing  apparel 
may  come  into  contact  with  gas  jets,  or 
where  in  stores  or  warehouses  much  ma- 
terial of  a  combustible  nature  is  handled, 


61 

strong  and  large  round  metal  wire  cages, 
guards  or  screens,  at  least  10  inches  in  dia- 
meter, and  with  close  meshes,  and  so 
shaped  and  constructed  that  any  com- 
bustible material  coming  in  contact  there- 
with shall  be  out  of  reach  of  the  flames, 
should  be  fitted  and  attached  to  the  gas 
brackets  in  a  firm  manner,  preferably  sold- 
ered. 

In  case  many  lights  are  suddenly  turned 
out  it  often  happens,  especially  on  the 
higher  floors  of  buildings  of  many  stories, 
that  a  single  flame  left  burning  jumps  up 
or  flares,  generally  with  a  whizzing  or 
singing  noise,  due  to  the  temporary  excess 
of  pressure,  to  such  a  height  that  it  may 
set  woodwork  on  fire.  The  same  sudden 
flaring  up  of  a  gas  jet  may  occur  when  a 
lava  tip  cracks  or  breaks  off.  As  we  will 
see  later  on  pressure  regulators,  or  better 
still,  governor  burners  will  prevent  this  oc- 
currence. 

After  this  slight  digression  relating  to 
fires  directly  or  indirectly  caused  by  gas 
lighting  apparatus  in  houses,  we  will  con- 
tinue our  consideration  of  the  proper  means 


for  obtaining  a  satisfactory   gaslight  illu- 
mination. 

GAS  BURNERS. 

We  have  given,  heretofore,  as  concisely 
as  possible,  the  requirements  of  a  good  gas 
piping  system.  The  next  point  requiring 
attention  is  the  burner  at  which  the  gas 
distributed  by  the  pipe  system,  is  ignited 
and  consumed,  giving  off  light.  In  order 
to  have  a  better  understanding  of  the  re- 
quirements of  a  good  burner,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  say  a  few  words  relating  to  the 
composition  of  illuminating  gas  and  the 
mode  in  which  by  combustion  it  is  turned 
into  a  light  giving  flame. 

Lighting  gas  is  a  very  complex  mixture 
of  gases,  of  which  various  chemical  com- 
pounds of  carbon  and  hydrogen — the  hy- 
drocarbons— form  the  chief  light-giving 
constituents.  Gas  always  contains  more  or 
less  impurities,  the  principal  ones  being 
carbonic  oxide,  carbonic  acid,  ammonia, 
sulphuretted  hydrogen  and  bisulphides  of 
carbon.  These  are  partly  removed  by 


63 


purifying  processes  before  the  gas  leaves 
the  works. 

When  the  gas  jot  is  ignited  the  inflam- 
mable hydrogen  is  consumed  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  flame,  producing  sufficient  heat 
to  render  the  infinitesimal  particles  of  car- 
bon incandescent.  The  hydrogen  in  the 
process  of 'combustion  combines  with  oxy- 
gen from  the  air  forming  an  invisible  va- 
por of  water,  while  the  carbon  unites  with 
oxygen  forming  carbonic  acid.  Hence  we 
see  that  water  and  carbonic  acid  are  the 
products  of  combustion  of  perfectly  puri- 
fied gas  when  perfectly  consumed,  but 
in  reality  it  is  seldom  that  gas  is  so 
perfectly  purified  and  that  combustion 
is  perfect.  The  carbonic  acid  of  unpuri- 
fied  gas  reduces  its  illuminating  power, 
and  the  other  gaseous  admixtures  (chiefly 
compounds  of  sulphur)  are  converted  by 
combustion  into  harmful  vapors  injurious 
alike  to  the  human  system  when  inhaled, 
to  house  plants,  and  finally  to  the  interior 
decoration  of  houses. 

Various  reasons  tend  to  render  combus- 
tion incomplete.  There  may  be  excessive 


64 

pressure  of  gas,  and  there  may  also  be 
lack  of  air  to  the  flame,  and  finally  the 
burners  may  be  defective.  The  pressure 
in  the  street  mains  must  necessarily  be 
somewhat  higher  than  required  in  the 
house  services  on  account  of  the  differences 
in  the  street  levels  of  a  district.  An  excess 
of  pressure  at  the  burners  causes  a  reduc- 
tion of  the  amount  of  illumination,  and  it 
becomes  desirable  to  reduce  the  pressure 
which  can  be  accomplished  by  several 
means,  to  which  we  shall  refer  below.  On 
the  other  hand  it  may  happen  that  the 
pressure  is  insufficient,  and  in  that  case  the 
heat  of  the  flame  will  not  reach  a  degree 
sufficient  to  raise  the  carbon  to  white  heat, 
and  as  a  result  the  flame  will  smoke.  It 
follows  that  for  every  burner  there  is  a 
certain  amount  of  pressure  and  correspond- 
ing flow  of  gas  which  will  cause  the 
brightest  attainable  illumination.  It  is 
found  by  experience  that  gas  should  be 
burnt  at  the  lowest  practical  pressure  con- 
sistent with  adequate  supply,  and  where 
the  size  of  the  meter  and  the  diameter  of 
the  house  distributing  pipes  and  of  the  tub- 


65 


ing  of  gas  fixtures  is  ample,  the  intensity 
of  illumination  will  depend  chiefly  upon 
the  conditions  under  which  gas  is  burnt. 

As  a  rule  the  gas  pressure  at  the  burners 
is  excessive,  particularly  in  the  upper 
stories  of  houses,  located  on  high  ground. 
Too  much  pressure  is  readily  detected  by 
the  hissing  or  roaring  sound  of  the  gas 
flame.  The  result  of  incomplete  combus- 
tion is  a  waste  of  gas,  it  being  stated  by 
good  authorities  that  as  usually  burnt  from 
20  to  50  per  cent,  of  the  gas  registered  at 
the  house  meter,  is  actually  wasted.  This 
waste  is  very  objectionable,  first  because 
it  causes  high  bills  to  the  consumer,  second 
— and  this  is  of  vastly  more  importance — 
because  it  contaminates  the  atmosphere  of 
the  house,  and  thus  injures  the  health  of 
the  inhabitants,  thirdly,  because  the  injuri- 
ous compounds  of  sulphur  due  to  incom- 
plete combustion  of  gas  are  destructive  to 
furniture,  bookbindings,  wall  papers,  pic- 
ture .frames,  decorations  and  gilt  work, 
while  the  smoke  incident  to  imperfect 
combustion  blackens  ceil  ings  and  walls. 

It  seems  deplorable,  that   the  gas  com- 


66 


panies,  with  perhaps  a  few  exceptions,  do 
not  show  any  interest  in  making  efforts  to 
stop  the  waste  of  gas  in  houses.  What 
they  are  chiefly  concerned  in  are  the  gas 
leaks  at  the  works,  in  the  street  mains  and 
at  the  connections  of  the  house  services 
with  the  main,  and  the  fact  that  all  such 
leaks  constitute  a  direct  loss  to  the  com- 
pany and  not  to  the  consumer,  may  per- 
haps be  taken  as  a  sufficient  explanation. 

The  waste  of  gas  due  to  incomplete 
combustion  is  still  further  increased  by  the 
use  of  defective  burners,  the  best  of  them 
after  some  years'  use  becoming  worn  out 
and  imperfect.  It  is,  therefore,  desirable 
to  use  the  greatest  care  in  the  selection  of 
proper  burners,  by  paying  clue  regard  to 
their  construction,  material,  shape  and 
size.  It  has  been  ascertained  by  carefully 
conducted  experiments  that  poor  burners 
give  only  from  20  to  50  per  cent,  of  the 
light  which  can  be  obtained  by  the  con- 
sumption of  a  given  quantity  of  gas  under 
proper  conditions.  . 

It  would  require  more  space  than  is  at 
my  disposal  to  describe  and  explain  in  de- 


67 

tail  the  construction  and  working  prin- 
ciples of  the  many  kinds  of  burners  in- 
vented and  put  on  the  market  since  the 
introduction  of  lighting  gas  into  dwellings. 
Broadly  speaking,  we  may  distinguish  six 
principal  types  of  burners,  viz. : 

1.  The  Single  Jet  Burner. 

2.  The  Fishtail  Burner. 

3.  The  Batswing  Burner. 

4.  The  Argand  Burner. 

5.  The  Regenerative  Burner,  and 

6.  The  Incandescent  Burner. 

The  single  jet  burner  is  the  simplest 
kind  of  burner,  having  only  one  small 
hole  from  which  the  gas  issues.  It  is  only 
suitable  where  a  very  small  flame  is  re- 
quired. 

The  batswing  or  slit  burner  has  a  hem- 
ispherical tip  with  a  narrow  vertical  slit 
from  which  the  gas  spreads  out  in  a  thin 
flat  sheet,  giving  a  wide  and  not  very  high 
flame,  resembling  in  shape  the  wing  of  a 
bat  (hence  the  name).  The  common  kind 
of  slit  burners  are  not  suitable  for  use  with 
globes  as  the  flame  is  liable  to  crack  the 
glass. 


68 

The  union-jet  or  fishtail  burner  consists 
of  a  flat  tip  slightly  depressed  or  concave 
in  the  centre,  with  two  small  holes  drilled 
under  a  certain  angle  to  each  other.  Two 
jets  of  equal  size  issue  from  these  holes, 
and  by  impinging  upon  each  other  produce 
a  flat  flame,  longer  and  narrower  in  shape 
than  the  batswing,  and  not  unlike  the  tail 
of  a  fish,  wherefrom  the  burner  derives  its 
name. 

The  gas  consumption  of  the  fishtail 
burners  in  cubic  feet  per  hour  is  stamped 
on  them,  while  on  all  slit  burners  the 
number  of  cubic  feet  of  gas  consumed  per 
hour  are  indicated  by  the  number  of  rings 
on  the  outside  of  the  tip,  each  narrow  ring 
indicating  one  cubic  foot,  while  a  broad 
ring  stands  for  four  cubic  feet.  But,  in- 
asmuch as  the  volume  of  gas  consumed 
depends  on  the  pressure  of  gas  at  the  burn- 
ers not  less  than  upon  the  size  of  the  open- 
ing or  slit,  this  method  of  designating  the 
burners  is  obviously  unreliable.  Both  kinds 
of  burners  require  no  chimney,  but  the 
flames  are  usually  encased  with  glass 
globes. 


69 


The  argand  burner  consists  essentially 
of  a  hollow  ring  of  metal,  connected  with 
the  gas  tube  and  perforated  on  its  upper 
surface  with'  a  series  of  fine  holes  from 
which  the  gas  issues,  forming  a  round 
flame.  This  burner  requires  the  use  of 
a  glass  chimney,  properly  proportioned  in 
diameter  and  height,  to  induce  perfect 
combustion  by  increasing  the  air  supply  to 
the  flame. 

The  above  are  the  principal  burners 
more  commonly  used  in  domestic  gas- 
lighting.  The  argand  as  well  as  the  bat- 
swing  and  fishtail  burners  have  recently 
been  much  improved  by  Messrs.  Sugg, 
Broenner,  Bray  and  Silber,  prominent 
European  manufacturers  of  gas-lighting 
apparatus.  Further  vast  improvements  in 
the  shape  of  gas-burners  have  been  effected 
since  the  introduction  of  the  incandescent 
electric  light  threatened  to  revolutionize 
domestic  lighting.  Not  only  have  fish'tail 
and  batswing  burners  been  much  im- 
proved, but  more  recently  burners  con- 
structed upon  entirely  new  principles  have 


70 

been  introduced,  namely  the  regenerative 
and  the  incandescent  gas  burners. 

In  all  regenerative  burners,  such  as  those 
of  Siemens,  Grimston,  Bower,  Wenham, 
Lungren,  Sugg  and  Bray,  the  high  temper- 
ature due  to  the  combustion  in  a  gas  flame 
is  directly  utilized  to  raise  the  temperature 
both  of  the  gas  before  ignition  and  of  the 
air  before  combustion,  the  result  being  an 
intensified  combustion  and  a  vastly  in- 
creased illuminating  power.  These  power- 
ful burners  are  in  successful  use  for  light- 
ing up  streets  and  squares,  stores  and  halls 
of  audience. 

In  the  incandescent  burners,  finally,  the 
heat  of  the  flame  is  applied  to  raising  to 
incandescence  some  foreign  material, 
either  a  basket  of  magnesia  (Lewis  burner), 
or  wires  of  platinum  (Clammond  lamp),  or 
a  funnel  shaped  asbestos  wick  or  mantle, 
treated  chemically  with  sulphate  of  zir- 
conium and  other  rare  chemical  elements 
(Welsbach  incandescent  light).  The  latter 
burner  gives  a  particularly  brilliant  and 
white  light  when  used  in  connection  with 
water  gas  unmixed  with  naphtha  gases,  but 


71 

the  mantle  is  very  fragile,  and  soon  loses 
its  incandescence,  particularly  when  ex- 
posed to  an  atmosphere  containing  much 
dust. 

Attempts  have  also  been  made  in  the 
so-called  Albo-Carbon  light  to  obtain  a 
greater  brilliancy  and  increasing  illumin- 
ating power  by  enriching  ordinary  coal 
gas  with  the  vapors  of  naphthaline  con- 
tained in  a  metal  reservoir  connected  with 
the  gas-burner. 

The  brilliancy  of  all  kinds  of  gas  flames 
is  reduced,  as  we  have  explained  hereto- 
fore, when  gas  issues  under  too  great  a 
pressure,  and  also  when  the  passages  for 
gas,  the  pipes,  the  gaskeys  and  the  holes 
or  slits  in  the  burners  become  obstructed. 
An  intense  heat  of  combustion  being  favor- 
able to  increased  luminosity  of  the  flame, 
it  is  desirable  that  the  latter  should  not  be 
unduly  cooled.  The  incandescence  of  the 
carbon  is  the  more  perfect  the  higher  the 
temperature  of  the  flame.  Hence  it-follows 
that  the  burners  or  burner  tips  should  not 
consist  of  a  material  which  cools  the  flame. 
Metal  tips  for  gas-burners,  and  iron  or  brass 


72 

burners  are,  on  this  account,  inferior  to 
burners  or  tips  made  of  some  non-conduct- 
ing material,  be  this  soapstone,  steatite, 
lava,  adamant  or  enamel.  Metal  tips  are, 
furthermore,  objectionable,  because  they 
rapidly  corrode  and  thus  obstruct  the  free 
flow  of  gas  at  the  burner,  and  this  is  a  sec- 
ond reason  why  burners  made  of  non-cor- 
rosive material  should  be  preferred.  Nick- 
eled tips  are  said  to  be  somewhat  better 
than  iroa  or  brass  tips,  especially  for  wa- 
ter-gas, but  soapstone  or  steatite  tips  are 
undoubtedly  superior.  But  even  non-cor- 
rosive tips  clog  up  in  the  course  of  time 
with  incrustations  of  carbon,  causing  badly 
proportioned  flames  of  irregular  shape  and 
leading  to  a  waste  of  gas.  Burner  tips 
may  and  should  be  cleaned  from  time  to 
time,  but  this  should  be  done  with  care  so 
as  not  to  enlarge  unduly  the  slits  of  the 
batswing  or  the  holes  of  the  fishtail  burners. 
Occasional  renewal  of  burners  will  often 
help  to  improve  gas-light  illumination. 

GAS  PRESSURE  REGULATORS. 
A  good  remedy  for  places  where  exces- 


73 


sive  gas  pressure  prevails  consists  in  the 
use  of  pressure  governors  or  regulators, 
placed  on  the  main  house  gas  pipe  near 
the  meter. 

Oftentimes  governors  are  combined  with 
the  gas-burners  in  the  shape  of  so-called 
governor  burners,  which  will  prevent  the 
jumping  or  flaring  up  of  flames  on  upper 
floors  of  high  buildings  (the  gas  pressure 
increasing  with  the  numbers  of  stories) 
more  effectually  than  any  pressure  governor 
at  the  meter.  Both  kinds  of  regulators 
prevent  the  waste  of  gas,  give  a  more  uni- 
form and  steady  gas-light  and  secure 
economy  by  reducing  the  gas  bills,  but 
they  should  not  be  used  together,  and  at 
least  in  the  case  of  high  buildings  the 
governor  burners  are  preferable  to  pres- 
sure regulators. 

VENTILATING  GAS  BURNERS. 

The  excessive  heat  caused  by  the  com- 
bustion of  gas,  and  the  resulting  impurities 
contaminating  the  air,  are  often  causes  of 
annoyance,  discomfort  and  occasional 
suffering.  To  remedy  this  several  forms 


74 

of  ventilating  gas-lights  have  been  pro- 
posed from  time  to  time  and  introduced 
to  a  limited  extent,  such  as  the  sun-burner, 
the  globe  light  and  others.  They  are 
designed  and  constructed  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  remove  at  the  ceiling  the  surplus 
heat  and  the  incidental  impurities  of  air 
due  to  gas  illumination,  by  having  outlets 
in  the  ceiling  or  over  the  gas  flame  con- 
nected with  properly  constructed  vent 
flues  in  the  walls. 

Some  of  the  above  mentioned  regenera- 
tive gas-burners  are  at  the  same  time 
ventilating  burners.  All  the  various  types 
of  ventilating  gas-fixtures,  whether  chan- 
deliers or  sidelights,  are  desirable  from  a 
sanitary  point  of  view.  In  using  them 
attention  should  be  paid  to  the  proper 
protection  of  woodwork  in  ceilings  coming 
in  contact  with  the  tin  branch  vent  flues, 
as  the  temperature  of  the  escaping  air  may 
be  quite  high.  It  is  desirable  that  the 
products  of  combustion  be  removed  from 
near  the  level  of  the  burners  which  may 
be  accomplished  by  arranging  metal  bells 
over  the  name^  ;ind  connecting  them  with 


75 

the  vent  flues.  It  is  also  necessary  in 
order  to  accomplish  good  results,  as 
regards  ventilation,  that  the  tin  vent 
flues  in  the  ceilings  be  made  as  large  as 
possible. 

GAS  GLOBES  AND  GLOBE  HOLDERS. 

Next  to  •  the  burners  the  shape  of  the 
glass  globes  or  shades  surrounding  the 
flame  has  much  to  do  with  proper  illumi- 
nation. The  unsuitable  arrangement  of 
glass  globes  constitutes  another  factor 
contributing  a  share  to  the  gas  wasted  by 
imperfect  combustion.  In  order  to  obtain 
the  maximum  degree  of  light  and  also  to 
avoid  an  unsteady  and  flickering  light,  the 
flow  to  the  flame  of  the  air  necessary  for 
combustion  should  be  slow  and  regular, 
steady  and  uniform.  Where  the  air  sup- 
ply is  insufficient  the  flame  is  apt  to  smoke, 
blackening  ceilings  and  contaminating  the 
air.  Where,  on  the  other  hand,  a  violent 
current  of  air  rushes  to,  and  impinges 
upon  the  flame,  the  light  flickers  in  an 
annoying  manner  and  the  flame  looses 
some  of  its  heat  and  brilliancy  by  cooling. 


76 

The  old-fashioned  styles  of  glass  globes 
were  made  with  very  narrow  openings  at  the 
bottom  (often  but  2  or  2J£  in.  diameter) 
and  complaints  of  unsteady  lights  were 
common.  Such  globes  with  narrow  bottom 
openings  are  objectionable  and  should  be 
entirely  discarded,  and  globes  with  bottom 
orifices  four  inches  or  more  in  diameter 
should  always  be  used. 

All  glass  globes  absorb  more  or  less  light 
and  hence  cause  a  loss  of  illuminating 
power  and  a  waste  of  gas.  Experiments 
show  that,  according  to  the  thickness  and 
opacity  of  shades  the  light  is  obstructed  as 
follows : — 

By  clear  glass  globes,  from  10—15  per 
cent. 

By  slightly  ground  globes,  about  21  per 
cent. 

By  globes  ground  all  over,  from  25 — 40 
per  cent. 

By  opal  glass  globes,  from  35 — GO  per 
per  cent. 

By  colored  or  painted  globes,  about  64 
per  cent. 

It  follows  that  clear  glass   globes  are 


77 

much  to  be  preferred  and  more  economical, 
although  where  softness  of  light  is  par- 
ticularly desired  the  use  of  opal  globes  is 
rendered  necessary.  The  globe  holders, 
too,  should  be  as  little  light-obstructing  as 
possible.  An  incidental  advantage  of  glass 
globes  of  large  bottom  diameter  is  that  a 
portion  of  the  light  falls  directly  into  the 
room  without  being  obstructed. 

GAS  FIXTUKES. 

I  must,  in  conclusion,  offer  a  few  remarks 
as  regards  the  selection  and  construction 
of  proper  gas  fixtures.  Many  times  poor 
illumination  is  caused  by  ill-contrived, 
poorly  constructed  or  defective  chandeliers 
and  bracket  fixtures.  Gas  fixtures  are, 
almost  without  exception,  designed  solely 
from  an  artistic  point  of  view  and  without 
any  regard  to  the  proper  conditions  which 
alone  enable  us  to  obtain  a  maximum 
degree  of  light.  Fixtures  having  an  over- 
abundance of  meaningless  scrolls  or  spirals 
may,  in  the  case  of  imperfectly  purified 
gas  or  improperly  run  gas-pipes,  accumu- 
late a  large  amount  of  tarry  deposit  which 


78 


in  time  hardens  and  obstructs  the  passages 
for  gas. 

Another  fault  is  the  use  of  too  small 
tubing  for  the  gas  fixtures.  Having  taken 
pains  to  pipe  a  house  with  adequate  sized 
pipes,  it  is  equally  necessary  to  have  the 
passages  for  gas  in  the  fixtures  of  ample 
bore,  in  other  words,  the  main  tube  of  the 
chandelier  should  be  proportioned  to  the 
total  number  of  lights  which  the  chandelier 
carries,  and  the  side  tube  for  each  light  as 
well  as  the  orifice  of  its  gas  key  should  be 
made  ample  in  size  to  supply  each  burner 
with  the  requisite  volume  of  gas. 

A  still  more  serious  defect  consists  in  the 
many  leaky  stop-cocks  of  gas  fixtures  caused 
either  by  defective  workmanship  or  by 
keys  becoming  worn  or  loose.  It  is  very 
rare  indeed,  to  find  a  house  piped  with  gas 
where  the  pressure  test  could  be  success- 
fully applied  without  first  removing  the  fix- 
tures. It  is  an  almost  universal  experience 
that  the  joints  of  folding  brackets,  of 
extension  or  telescopic  pendants,  and  the  gas 
keys  leak  much  more  than  the  system  of 
piping,  hence  all  chandeliers  and  bracket 


79 


fixtures  should  always  be  proved  and  tested 
before  being  hung  and  their  keys  made 
tight-fitting. 

It  is  equally  important  that  the  mechanic 
who  hangs  fixtures  (usually  not  the  gas- 
fitter)  should  use  particular  care  in  making 
the  joint  w.here  the  fixture  is  attached, 
perfectly  tight. 

Another  point  of  importance,  to  which 
the  writer  has  frequently  drawn  attention 
in  his  practice  as  well  as  in  his  writings, 
is  the  use  of  old-fashioned  gas  fixtures 
with  so-called  "  all-round "  cocks,  i.  e. 
cocks  not  provided  with  stop  pins.  Such 
worthless  fixtures  are  oftentimes  the  cause 
of  gas  leaks  and  become  dangerous,  par- 
ticularly in  hotels,  apartment  and  lodging 
houses,  when  the  gas  key  is  incompletely 
closed,  or  by  the  accidental  turning  on  of 
the  gas  after  the  key  has  been  turned  off 
and  the  light  extinguished,  causing  fre- 
quent cases  of  death  by  inhalation  during 
sleep  of  escaping  coal  gas  or  of  the  much 
more  fatal  water  gas. 

The  use  of  cocks  without  check  pins  or 
stops  should,  in  my  judgment,  be  pro- 


80 

hibited  by  act  of  legislature.  In  fixtures 
of  modern  manufacture  pin  stops  are  al- 
ways provided,  but  here  we  often  find 
another  defect,  the  metal  of  which  they 
consist,  being  much  too  light  and  cracking 
or  bending  out  of  shape  with  repeated 
use.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  insisted 
upon  that  all  check  pins  attached  to  gas 
keys  should  .be  of  good  size  and  made 
extra  strong. 

Waterside  chandeliers  or  waterjoint  pen- 
dants, which  are  extensively  used  in  Eng- 
land and  on  the  Continent,  are  another 
fruitful  source  of  gas  leaks,  owing  to  the 
evaporation  of  the  water  in  the  joint. 
This  can  be  avoided  by  frequent  additions 
of  water,  or  better  still  by  using  a  table- 
spoonful  of  sweet  oil  or  glycerine  which 
retards  the  evaporation  of  the  water. 
Fortunately,  such  waterjoint  pendants  are 
not  much  used  in  the  United  States,  being 
replaced  by  the  much  to  be  preferred  ex- 
tension joint  chandelier  with  packed  stuf- 
fing-box joints. 

When    we    consider    the   many   deaths 


81 


caused  by  inhalation  of  illuminating  gas, 
and  the  injurious  influence  upon  health,  of 
slight  gas  leaks  and  of  noxious  compounds 
due  to  imperfect  combustion  of  gas,  it 
seems  highly  desirable  that  some  kind  of 
official  and  periodical  supervision,  similar 
to  the  one  now  exercised  over  the  general 
construction  of  buildings,  and  over  the 
plumbing  and  drainage  in  particular, 
should  be  carried  out  concerning  the 
arrangement  and  quality  of  gas-piping  and 
gas-fixtures  in  buildings  occupied  as  resi- 
dences or  as  offices. 

Until  such  official  inspection  will  be 
secured  it  becomes  the  householder's  duty 
to  ascertain  the  tightness  of  gas-pipes  and 
pipe  joints  and  soundness  of  fixtures  and 
fixture  keys. 

With  advancing  interest  in  this  im- 
portant and  hitherto  somewhat  neglected 
subject,  we  shall  hear  in  the  future  less 
complaints  about  vitiated  air,  destructive 
gas-light  fumes,  immoderate  heat,  un- 
steady, flickering  or  poor  light,  blacken- 
ing of  ceilings  and  destruction  of  decora- 
ations,  picture  frames  and  bookbindings. 


HINTS    TO    GAS    CONSUMERS    ON 

THE  PROPER  USE  AND  MAN- 

AGEMENT  OF  GAS. 


The  following  hints  to  householders  and 
to  gas  consumers  generally  on  the  manage- 
ment, the  proper  application  and  the  eco- 
nomical use  of  gas  for  lighting  and  other 
purposes,  will  prove  to  many  interesting 
and  useful. 

They  are  derived  partly  from  personal, 
practical  experience  and  observation,  and 
partly  gleaned  and  compiled  from  various 
sources. 

ADVICE  TO  PERSONS  BUILDING  A  HOUSE  AS 
TO  SIZE  OF  SERVICE  PIPE  AND  HOUSE 
PIPING,  GAS  METER,  GAS  BURNERS,  GAS 
FIXTURES,  GAS  GLOBES  AND  PRESSURE 
REGULATORS,  SUPPLY  TO  GAS  LOGS  AND 
GAS  STOVES. 

As  soon  as  your  house  plans  are  ready, 
determine  and  locate  on  the  floor  plans  the 
exact  location  of  all  outlets  for  both  side 


83 


and  drop  lights.  Next  ascertain  the  num- 
ber of  lights  or  burners  in  the  house,  and 

O  7 

secure  from  the  gas  company  a  correspond- 
ingly ample  size  service  pipe,  never  less 
than  1  inch  in  diameter.  See  that  the  gas 
service  pipe  is  laid  at  a  depth  of  4  feet  be- 
low the  surface,  and  that  it  is  not  exposed 
by  crossing*  open  areas.  Where  it  must 
unavoidably  pass  through  these,  the  gas 
pipe  should  be  well  protected  by  some  non- 
conducting covering  to  prevent  the  watery 
vapor  in  the  pipes  from  congealing  and 
freezing  in  winter. 

The  service  pipe  should  be  laid  with  a 
pitch  towards  the  street  main,  or  where 
this  is  impracticable,  the  service  pipe  should 
be  graded  towards  the  cellar,  where  a  proper 
emptying  pipe  and  cleanout  plug  should  be 
provided.  It  is  also  desirable  to  have  an 
outside  gas  shut-off  cock  or  valve,  located 
near  the  curb  in  the  sidewalk. 

The  shut- off  cock  in  the  cellar  near  the 
gas  meter  should  be  a  roundway  cock,  to 
insure  a  full  supply  of  gas.  Obtain  from 
the  gas  company  a  gas  meter  of  ample  size, 
never  less  than  of  5 -light  capacity  for  the 


84 


smallest  house.  For  medium  sized  houses 
take  a  10-light  meter,  and  for  larger  houses 
at  least  a  20-light  meter.  Place  the  gas 
meter  in  a  cool,  well  lighted,  easily  acces- 
sible place. 

Make  sure  that  the  distribution  pipes  are 
properly  and  amply  proportioned  to  the 
number  of  lights  which  they  have  to  sup- 
ply, and  that  the  pipes  are  well  run,  well 
supported,  free  from  traps  or  low  places, 
and  have  a  continuous  pitch  to  the  gas  riser 
or  the  gas  meter.  Do  not  allow  the  gas  Jit- 
ter under  any  circumstances  to  use  gasfit- 
ter*s  cement  to  tighten  joints  or  to  close  up 
sand-holes. 

Be  sure  to  have  the  whole  gas  piping  rig- 
idly inspected  and  tested  with  force-pump 
and  mercury  gauge  under  a  heavy  air  press- 
ure, before  the  gas-fixtures  are  hung  or 
screwed  on. 

Purchase  only  properly  constructed,  test- 
ed gas-fixtures,  of  first-class  quality,  with 
large  supply  tubes,  and  with  proper  heavy, 
tight- closing  gas  keys  with  strongly  made 
pin  stops.  Make  sure  that  when  the  fix- 
ture man  hangs  the  fixtures,  all  fixture  joints 


85 


— that  is,  the  places  where  the  fixtures  are 
secured  to  the  gas  outlets — are  made  abso- 
lutely tight. 

Provide  the  very  best  quality  burners,  of 
large  size,  with  lava  or  enamel  tips.  Buy 
only  the  best  kind  of  shadowless  wire  prong 
holders,  and  enclose  the  flames  with  glass 
globes  with"  wide  bottom  openings  of  4  or 
5  inches  in  diameter,  and  of  thin  and  clear 
glass. 

On  the  main  supply  pipe  near  the  gas 
meter  fit  up  a  proper  gas  pressure  regula- 
tor, or  else  in  large  houses  and  in  buildings 
of  many  stories,  use  on  the  side  brackets  and 
chandeliers  volumetric  governor  burners. 

Keep  a  plan  showing  the  location  of  the 
meter,  of  the  gas  riser  and  of  the  distribu- 
ting gas-pipes.  Such  a  record  will  be  use- 
ful for  relerence  in  case  of  future  alterations, 
or  in  case  of  hidden  leakages,  especially  in 
large  buildings,  and  by  its  aid  much  unnec- 
essary cutting  up  of  walls  and  floors  in  the 
search  for  pipes  may  be  avoided. 

For  all  outside  lights  on  porches,  veran- 
das, and  for  places  not  readily  heated  in 
winter  time,  provide  a  separate  supply  with 


86 

shut-off  located  inside  of  the  house,  so  as 
to  enable  you  to  shut  these  lights  off  in  se- 
vere cold  weather. 

Keep  bell  wires  away  from  gas  pipes, 
particularly  from  lead  or  composition  pipes. 
Cases  are  on  record  where  such  wires,  in 
constant  contact  with  a  gas-pipe  during 
years  of  use,  have  acted  like  a  saw  in  grad- 
ually cutting  the  pipe,  finally  causing  a 
hidden  leakage  of  gas,  which  to  find  and 
locate  is  often  an  extremely  difficult  mat- 
ter. As  a  measure  of  precaution  it  is  ad- 
visable to  keep  gas  pipes  away  from  steam, 
hot  water  or  hot  air  pipes,  also  from  elec- 
tric light  wires. 

Should  you  build  additions  to  your  house, 
or  should  you  add  to  the  number  of  lights 
in-  your  office  building,  or  manufacturing 
establishment,  make  sure  that  your  gas  ser- 
vice pipe  and  riser,  as  originally  put  in, 
are  ample  in  size  to  supply  the  additional 
lights.  It  is  far  better,  however,  in  order 
not  to  impair  the  illumination  of  the  origi- 
nal lights,  to  run  a  separate  service  pipe  to 
supply  the  extension  or  addition.  Where 


87 

this  is  done,  have  the  gas  meter  replaced 
by  one  of  larger  capacity. 

If  you  introduce  gas  logs  in  fire-places,  or 
contemplate  the  use  of  gas  heating  stoves, 
or  of  gas  cooking  ranges,  always  supply 
these  from  a  separate  service  pipe  starting 
at  the  house  side  of  the  meter  between  the 
same  and  the  gas  pressure  regulator,  and 
make  the  pipes  of  ample  size  to  supply  the 
requisite  volume  of  gas. 

Be  sure  to  provide  an  outlet  flue  for  the 
gases  of  combustion  where  gas-stoves  are 
used  for  cooking  or  heating,  or  for  warm- 
ing the  bath  water. 

MAINTENANCE  OF  GAS  FITTINGS. 

Be  sure  to  have  the  gas  keys  at  your  gas 
fixtures  tightened  by  screwing  them  up 
when  they  become  loose  in  time. 

Under  no  circumstances  tolerate  gas  keys 
without  proper  and  secure  pin  stops. 

If  gas  keys  turn  too  hard  have  them 
properly  greased  from  time  to  time  so  as  to 
work  easily  and  smoothly.  A  good  key 
grease  is  made  by  melting  together  one 
part  of  beeswax  and  two  or  three  parts  of 


tallow,  the  mixture  to  be  well  strained 
after  melting. 

When  a  pin  becomes  defective  or  breaks 
have  it  replaced  at  once. 

All  types  of  gas  burners  should  be  exam- 
ined from  time  to  time,  and  kept  clean  and 
unobstructed.  When  a  once  well  shaped 
gas  flame  becomes  ragged  and  uneven,  the 
burner  needs  cleaning. 

In  cleaning  the  slits  of  batwing  and  the 
holes  of  Argand  and  fishtail  burners  by 
means  of  the  tools  sold  for  this  purpose,  be 
careful  not  to  injure  the  burners.  For  slit 
burners  the  cleaning  is  readily  accomplished 
with  a  thin  strip  of  brass  with  handle  at- 
tached. For  union  jet  burners  a  small  awl 
is  made  for  the  purpose. 

Worn  out  burners  should  be  removed 
from  time  to  time,  and  it  is  well  to  make  it 
a  rule  to  replace  all  burners  in  constant 
use  in  a  dwelling  house  with  new  ones 
about  once  a  year,  as  gas  burners,  no  mat- 
ter how  well  made,  will  not  last  forever. 

Cracked  or  split  lava  burner  tips  should 
at  once  be  replaced  to  avoid  any  danger 
from  fire. 


Glass  chimneys  of  Argand  burners,  the 
globes  or  shades  of  all  gas  fixtures,  and 
mica  protectors  and  metal  reflectors  must 
be  kept  scrupulously  clean  and  bright  to 
avoid  loss  of  light. 

All  low  places  or  drips  in  a  gas-piping 
system  should  be  cleaned  and  the  accumu- 
lated water  and  naphthaline  removed  from 
time  to  time. 

Chandeliers  must  be  inspected,  and,  if 
necessary,  taken  down  and  to  pieces,  and 
all  stoppages  in  the  tubing  removed. 

MANAGEMENT   OF  GAS. 

Householders  are  sometimes  advised,  as 
a  matter  of  precaution,  to  keep  the  gas 
turned  off  during  the  night  at  the  meter. 
It  is  much  safer,  in  my  judgment,  to  keep 
the  gas  permanently  turned  on  at  the  main, 
during  the  day  and  night,  while  a  dwelling 
house  is  occupied.  In  the  first  place,  a  gas 
light  is  frequently  wanted  during  the  night 
time,  and  it  is  an  incidental  advantage  of 
buildings  to  which  gas  has  been  laid  on, 
that  a  light  may  always  be  had  whenever 
wanted,  by  simply  turning  a  fixture  tap  and 


90 


applying  a  match,  without  the  necessity 
and  the  inconvenience  of  having  to  go  down 
to  the  cellar  to  open  the  main  stop-cock. 
Second,  and  this  is  more  important,  escapes 
of  gas  and  subsequent  explosions  may  oc- 
cur in  dwelling  houses  where  the  practice 
prevails  of  turning  off  the  gas  at  night  at 
the  main  stop-cock,  before  all  burners  are 
turned  off.  On  turning  open  the  stop-cock 
at  the  meter  the  next  morning,  gas  may 
escape  at  some  burner  left  open  the  previ- 
ous night,  in  considerable  quantities,  before 
the  fact  is  discovered. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  unoccupied  build- 
ings, and  in  all  buildings  closed  from  Sat- 
urday until  Monday,  or  on  holidays — such 
as  factories,  workshops,  stores,  office  build- 
ings, theatres  and  other  large  establish- 
ments— the  gas  should  always  be  turned 
off  at  the  main  after  first  shutting  off  all 
the  burners. 

In  all  large  buildings  the  janitor,  or  the 
engineer  or  a  foreman  should  have  a  proper 
supervision  of  the  gas  arrangements. 

Never  examine  a  gas  meter  with  a  candle- 
light, owing  to  the  danger  of  a  gas  explo- 


91 


sion,  unless  you  have  ascertained  before- 
hand that  the  meter  itself  and  all  its  piping 
and  connections  are  absolutely  tight. 

For  the  same  reason  it  is  well  to  be  care- 
ful not  to  use  near  a  gas  meter  tools  or  in- 
struments causing  flying  sparks, 

Never  use  the  heat  of  a  flame  to  thaw 
out  a  frozen  wet  gas  meter.  Use  warm 
bags  of  sand  or  cloths  dipped  in  hot  water. 
Draw  off  some  of  the  water  and  substitute 
alcohol*  or  glycerine. 

See  that  your  gas  service  main  from  the 
street  to  the  meter  is  protected  against 
freezing  wherever  exposed,  by  felting  or 
other  non-conducting  material.  Otherwise 
it  may  happen  in  very  cold  weather  that 
your  gas  flames  will  burn  very  badly,  or 
may  suddenly  go  out  altogether,  owing  to 
the  freezing  of  the  watery  vapor  in  the 
pipe.  If  a  service  pipe  in  the  street  freezes, 
an  excavation  must  be  made  and  heat  ap- 
plied to  the  earth. 

In  lighting  gas-burners,  gas-lamps,  gas- 
stoves  and  gas-logs,  always  apply  the  match 
or  the  taper  simultaneously  with  the  turn- 
ing of  the  gas  key  or  gas  valve.  If  the 


92 

cocks  are  turned  on  first,  and  the  light  ap- 
plied after  the  lapse  of  more  or  less  time, 
a  puff  of  unburnt  gas  escapes,  causing  waste 
of  gas  and  a  bad  smell,  or  in  the  case  of 
gas-logs  and  cooking- stoves  a  small  explo- 
sion, and  sometimes  more  or  less  injury. 

Never  use  candles  to  light  gas,  as  the 
melting  wax  or  tallow  easily  chokes  up  the 
holes  or  slits  of  the  burners.  Wax  matches 
should  always  be  avoided,  and  if  wax  ta- 
pers are  used  great  care  should  be  exer- 
cised. Better  means  of  lighting  gas  flames 
are  the  electric  and  dynamic  portable  gas 
torches,  or  the  electric  gas-burners. 

In  using  portable  or  desk  gas-lights,  con- 
nected with  a  fixed  light  or  gas  outlet  by 
means  of  rubber  tubing,  always  close  the 
fixture  key  when  turning  out  the  light, 
before  closing  the  key  at  the  portable 
lamp,  for  otherwise  the  rubber  tubing 
remaining  full  of  gas  after  some  use 
becomes  saturated  with  gas  and  ill- 
Fmelling. 

Never  keep  a  gas  flame  turned  down 
low  in  bedrooms.  Many  people  are  so 
sensitive  to  light  that  they  cannot  obtain 


93 


perfect  rest  where  even  a  dim  light  burns 
in  a  sleeping  apartment.  Again,  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  owing  to  the  result- 
ing imperfect  gas  combustion,  the  air  of 
the  bedroom  must  necessarily  become  con- 
taminated. Moreover,  there  is  a  possibility 
of  the  pressure  in  the  street  mains  becom- 
ing reduced  temporarily  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  extinguish  the  flame.  When  the 
pressure  is  afterwards  increased,  illumina- 
ting gas  would  escape  unburnt  at  the  bur- 
ner, exposing  sleeping  persons  to  the 
danger  of  being  asphyxiated  by  gas. 
Finally,  a  flame  turned  down  low  is  liable 
to  be  put  out  with  a  sudden  puff  or  draught 
of  air,  the  result  being  an  escape  of  un- 
burnt gas,  causing  possibly  asphyxia  or 
the  death  of  persons  occupying  the  room. 
Precautions  in  this  respect  are  particularly 
necessary  where  water  gas  or  a  mixture  of 
water  gas  and  naphtha  is  supplied  to 
consumers. 

Ignorant  people  and  persons  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  use  of  gas  often,  on  retiring, 
blow  out  the  gas.  In  hotels  and  lodging 
houses  this  is  a  frequent  cause  of  death 


94 


from  the  inhalation  of  water  or  coal  gas. 
A  measure  of  safety  consists  in  putting  up 
appropriate  signs  over  all  gas  flames  of  bed- 
rooms, warning  people  of  the  danger. 
Hotel  proprietors  should  exert  constant 
watchfulness  on  all  bedroom  floors  during 
the  night.  Some  recently  introduced  safety 
devices  or  so-called  "  automatic  "  gas  bur- 
ners, which  shut  off  the  gas  supply  auto- 
matically as  soon  as  the  gas  is  blown  out, 
offer  a  valuable  remedy. 

In  the  older  hotels,  and  in  many  lodging 
houses,  old-fashioned  fixtures  are  often 
found  which  have  no  stops  on  the  gas- 
keys,  and  with  these  it  frequently  happens 
that  the  stop-cock  is  turned  too  far  in 
putting  out  the  gas-light.  It  also  some- 
times happens  that  the  stop  pin,  not  being 
durable,  breaks.  In  both  cases  a  dangerous 
escape  of  gas  may  follow.  The  remedy  is 
to  provide  all  gas  keys  with  strong  metal 
stop  pins. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  TREATMENT  OF  PER- 
SONS OVERCOME  BY  THE  INHALATION 
OF  GAS. 

In   regard   to  the  treatment  of  persons 


95 


overcome  with  gas — either  coal  gas  or 
water  gas  (the  latter  being  far  more 
dangerous) — either  in  the  trenches  when 
laying  gas  mains,  or  by  escape  of  gas  into 
bedrooms  through  leaky  fixtures,  or  when 
the  gas  is  "  blown  out,"  or  from  escape  of 
gas  into  houses  from  breaks  in  street 
mains,  the  following  are  a  few  suggestions 
offered  by  prominent  physicians. 

Take  the  person  at  once  into  a  place 
where  the  air  is  pure  and  cool.  Don't  crowd 
around  him.  Keep  him  on  his  back.  Don't 
raise  his  head  or  turn  him  on  his  side. 
Loosen  his  clothing  around  the  neck  and 
remove  all  tight  clothing.  Give  a  little 
brandy  and  water  (not  more  than  four 
tablespoonfuls  of  brandy).  Give  the  am- 
monia mixture — 1  part  of  aromatic  am- 
monia to  16  parts  of  water — in  small 
quantities  at  short  intervals  (a  teaspoon- 
ful  every  two  or  three  minutes).  Slap 
face  and  chest  with  the  wet  end  of  a 
towel.  Apply  warmth  and  friction  if  the 
body  or  limbs  are  cold.  If  the  breathing 
is  feeble  or  irregular,  artificial  respiration 
should  be  used,  and  kept  up  until  there  is 


96 


no  doubt  that  it  can  no  longer  be  of  use. 
Administer  oxygen. 

Another  physician  advises  giving  a  table- 
spoonful  of  olive  oil,  or  of  common  sweet 
oil,  where  a  man  is  able  to  swallow.  Then 
give  him  a  little  milk)  or  some  brandy, 
whisky,  or  other  stimulant  on  hand. 
Loosen  his  garments,  place  him  in  a  half 
reclining  position  so  he  may  breathe 
easily,  create  a  circulation  of  air  by  fan- 
ning, or  placing  him  in  a  draught.  Place 
a  sponge  with  strong  vinegar  under  his 
nose,  wash  the  forehead  with  it,  and  the 
temples.  Rub  the  body.  Apply  means 
for  restoring  respiration.  When  conscious- 
ness returns,  wrap  the  person  in  blankets 
and  allow  free  perspiration,  sleep  and  rest. 

GAS   LEAKS. 

Gas  leaks  and  escapes  of  illuminating 
gas  may  be  the  cause  of  accidents  such  as 
gas  explosions  or  fire,  besides  the  above- 
mentioned  poisoning  or  asphyxia  from  gas 
inhalation. 

Gas  leaks  arise  either  from  defects  in  the 
street  mains,  the  gas  penetrating  in  many 


i 


97 


cases  through  the  soil  and  foundation  walls, 
particularly  in  winter  time ;  or  they  may 
be  caused  by  imperfections  in  the  gas 
meter  and  its  connections,  or  in  the  gas 
pressure  regulator,  or  in  the  house  pipe 
system  or,  finally,  they  are  due  to  bad 
fixtures,  bad  burners,  or  defective  gas 
heating  and  cooking  stoves. 

In  case  a  gas  leak  is  discovered  in  a 
room,  open  at  once  the  windows  and  the 
doors,  in  order  to  let  the  gas  escape  into 
the  open  air.  Coal  gas  being  lighter  than 
air,  the  escaping  gas  will  accumulate  at 
the  ceiling,  and  hence  the  upper  sash  should 
be  let  down.  Under  no  circumstances  use 
any  light  nor  search  for  the  leak  with 
mutches.  The  utmost  care  is  to  be  ob- 
served in  this  respect,  as  the  mixture  of 
atmospheric  air  with  illuminating  gas  in 
certain  proportions,  forms  a  very  explosive 
compound,  which,  if  brought  in  contact 
with  a  flame,  will  cause  much  injury  and 
damage  by  gas  explosion.  If  a  burner  is 
found  to  be  accidently  left  open,  or  only 
partly  turned  off,  the  key  should  be  at 
once  closed.  If  the  escape  of  gas  is  due 


98 

to  a  hidden  leak,  close  the  main  gas  cock, 
then  locate  the  leak,  and  having  found  it, 
take  at  once  and  without  delay  the  neces- 
sary steps  to  have  it  stopped  and  repaired. 

Make  it  a  rule  never  to  allow  any  body 
to  sleep  in  a  room  in  which  the  faintest 
odor  of  illuminating  gas  is  perceptible. 

Avoid  lead  or  composition  gas-pipes 
which,  in  hidden  places,  are  easily  gnawed 
by  rats,  causing  gas  leaks,  explosions  or 
fire. 

PKECAUTIONS  AGAINST  FIEE. 

In  order  to  guard  against  all  danger 
from  fire,  see  that  all  gas-fiames  are  at  a 
safe  distance  from  woodwork  or  inflamma- 
ble material. 

Where  ceilings  are  low,  and  where  the 
distance  from  the  gas-light  to  the  ceiling 
is  less  than  three  feet,  provide  metal  or 
glass  shields  or  bells  as  a  protection,  and 
have  them  hung  so  that  they  swing  freely. 

Enclose  lights  in  positions  exposed  to 
drafts  of  air  with  glass  globes.  A  draft  of 
air  may  blow  a  gas  jet  as  much  as  twelve 
inches  sideways,  and  thus  cause  the  scorch- 


99 


ing  ot  woodwork  or  the  blazing  up  of  cur- 
tains, etc. 

Avoid  swinging  gas  brackets  in  danger- 
ous positions,  such  as  near  doors,  windows, 
blinds,  curtains,  portieres,  or  shelves.  Rig- 
id gas  brackets  are  much  safer  and  better. 

Swinging  bracket  lights  should  be  fitted 
with  metal  guard  rings  of  large  diameter 
to  act  as  stop  in  preventing  a  gas  jet  from 
coming  in  contact  with  inflammable  ma- 
terial. 

In  basements,  cellars,  in  the  servants'  de- 
partment of  a  house,  particularly  in  the 
laundry,  ironing  room  and  in  linen  closets 
and  in  wardrobes,  protect  the  naked  gas- 
flames  with  securely  fastened  large,  round 
metal  wire  cages,  guards  or  screens. 

Paper  or  cardboard  reflectors  on  gas- 
lamps  should  be  avoided.  It  is  better  and 
safer  to  use  only  metallic  reflectors. 

Where  ventilating  or  regenerative  gas- 
burners  or  "  sunlights"  are  used,  care  should 
be  taken  to  have  the  ventilating  flues  well 
constructed  of  metal  and  free  from  contact 
with  woodwork. 

Set  the  gas  meter  in  a  well  ventilated 


100 

place,  having,  if  possible,  communication 
with  the  outside  air. 

Gas  jets  often  blaze  up  from  a  temporary 
excess  of  pressure  or  from  a  lava  tip  crack- 
ing or  jarring  off,  where  a  heavy  weight  is 
dropped  on  the  floor  overhead. 

In  lighting  the  gas-fixtures  care  should 
be  observed  in  the  use  of  matches.  Parlor 
and  wax  matches  are  dangerous,  and  the 
use  of  "safety"  matches,  lighting  by  fric- 
tion on  specially  prepared  surfaces  only,  is 
recommended. 

Provide  metal  or  earthen  boxes  for  the 
common  kind  of  matches,  and  have  also 
a  second  receptacle  to  receive  the  burnt 
matches.  Matches,  tapers  or  fuses  should 
not  be  thrown  on  the  floor  unextinguished. 
The  common  phosphorous  matches  are  hard 
to  extinguish,  and  the  practice  of  smokers 
of  carelessly  throwing  them  on  the  floor  tin- 
extinguished  is  exceedingly  reprehensible. 

Keep  matches  out  of  reach  of  mice  and 
rats,  and  do  not  leave  them  where  they  are 
exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Full  boxes 
of  matches  are  sometimes  ignited  by  fric- 


101 

tion  by  the  sliding  motion  of  the  boxes,  in 
opening  or  shutting. 

In  large  establishments  the  general  light- 
ing up  should  be  made  the  duty  of  a  spe- 
cial employee.  He  should  either  use  a  wax 
taper,  or  better,  portable  electric  torches. 
Alcohol  torches  are  dangerous. 

The  "  matchless "  burners  may  be  used 
in  halls,  toilet  rooms,  etc.,  and  at  these 
places  one  may  thus  dispense  with  the  use 
of  matches. 

IRREGULARITIES  IN  THE  GAS  SUPPLY. 

When  householders  experience  trouble 
with  the  burning  of  gas  lights,  the  irregu- 
larities may,  in  general,  be  looked  for  as 
being  due  to  one  or  several  of  the  follow- 
ing causes,  viz. : 

(1.)  To  defects  in  the  gas  fixtures  and 
gas  burners. 

ts.)  To  defects  in  the  house  pipes  be- 
tween the  gas  meter  and  the  gas  burners. 

(3).  To  defects  in  the  gas  meter,  particu- 
larly where  wet  gas  meters  are  used. 

(4.)  To  defects  in  the  service  pipe,  be- 
tween the  street  gas  main  and  the  meter. 


10S 

(5.)  To  defects  in  the  system  of  street 
mains. 

(6.)  To  defects  or  troubles  at  the  gas 
works. 

Whan  the  gas  lights  of  neighboring 
houses,  or  of  houses  in  the  same  street, 
show  more  or  less  the  same  troubles  as 
those  you  experience  in  your  house,  the 
cause  may  with  certainty  be  attributed  to 
either  (5)  or  (6),  or  to  both. 

If  the  trouble  does  not  exist  in  adjoining 
houses,  but  is  confined  to  your  own  house, 
you  may  be  sure  that  it  can  only  be  due  to 
one  or  more  of  the  causes  (1),  ("2),  (3)  or  (4). 
In  that  case  inquire  and  examine  into  the 
four  points  named  to  find  out  if  one  or 
more  of  these  are  the  cause.  In  doing  this 
remember  that  if  all  gas  flames  in  your 
house  are  equally  aifected,  the  trouble  must 
be  due  to  causes  (2),  (3)  or  (4),  and  it  will, 
in  most  cases,  be  found  to  be  due  to  defect 
(2),  usually  in  the  house  pipes  between  the 
gas  meter  and  the  first  branch  or  to  irregu- 
larities in  the  meter  (3). 

The  following  detailed  explanations  will 
be  helpful  in  remedying  the  defects. 


103 

(a.)  If  a  once  satisfactory  gas  flame  is 
found  to  be  burning  with  inferior  light,  the 
cause  is  either  an  obstruction  in  the  burner, 
or  else  accumulation  of  rust  at  the  foot  of 
vertical  gas  pipes,  or  the  service  pipes  are 
partially  choked  with  tar  or  naphthaline, 
or  condensed  watery  vapor.  When  the  gas 
flame  is  "  ragged  "  the  burner  tip  is  par- 
tially stopped  up,  and  the  burner  should  be 
cleaned,  or  a  new  burner  should  be  substi- 
tuted. If  this  does  not  remedy  the  trouble, 
rust  accumulations  may  be  the  cause.  Re- 
move these  by  blowing  out  the  service  pipe 
by  means  of  a  service  force  pump.  If  con- 
densed gas  vapor  or  naphthaline  obstructs 
the  pipes,  remove  same  at  the  drips  or  si- 
phons. The  meter,  if  a  wet  one,  may  have 
too  little  or  too  much  water,  or  in  winter 
time,  the  water  collected  in  siphons  or  in 
the  meter,  may  be  frozen,  and  the  pipes  or 
the  meter  need  thawing  out. 

(b.)  If  a  gas  flame  goes  out  suddenly, 
this  will  be  found  to  be  due  either  to  air  in 
the  pipes,  or  it  may  be  due  to  accumula- 
tions of  condensed  vapor  in  the  house  pipes. 
Remove  the  same  by  opening  the  main 


104 

drip  or  plug  of  the  service  main,  near  the 
gas  meter,  and  when  doing  so  be  sure  not 
to  have  any  light  anywhere  near  you. 

Where  a  wet  meter  is  used,  and  the  gas 
goes  out  suddenly  at  all  the  fixtures  lighted, 
it  may  be  caused  by  a  deficiency  of  water 
in  the  meter,  or  else  by  an  excess  ^f  water. 
In  winter  time  it  may  be  due  to  the  freez- 
ing of  the  gas  meter,  or  of  the  service  pipe 
from  the  street  to  the  house. 

Where  the  lights  in  several  houses  go 
out  suddenly,  the  trouble  is  either  in  the 
street  mains  or  at  the  gas  works. 

(c.)  If  a  certain  number  of  gas  lights  are 
burning,  and  upon  lighting  several  more 
either  on  the  same  or  on  other  floors,  the 
former  flames  are  unfavorably  affected,  that 
is,  if  they  show  a  reduction  in  size  or  in 
brilliancy,  it  may  be  taken  as  an  indication 
that  the  house  pipe  system  has  pipes  of  in- 
sufficient calibre  to  supply  all  the  lights. 
This  trouble  can  only  be  remedied  by  re- 
piping  the  house  with  larger  gas  pipes. 

(d.)  If  gas,  upon  being  ignited  at  a 
burner,  burns  with  a  bluish  flame,  this  is  a 
sure  indication  that  there  is  air  in  the  house 


105 

pipes.  This  is  liable  to  happen  where  it  is 
made  a  rule — although  it  is  a  bad  practice 
— to  shut  off  the  main  gas  cock  over  night. 
Air  then  fills  the  pipes  through  leaky  joints 
in  the  pipe  system,  and  upon  again  turning 
on  the  gas,  air  is  driven  out  at  the  burners. 
The  remedy  is  to  search  for  the  leaks  and 
to  make  the  piping  and  the  gas-fixtures  ab- 
solutely tight. 

(e.}  If  one  or  more  gas  lights  bob  up  and 
down  or  flicker,  it  is  an  indication  that  water 
has  accumulated  in  the  branch  pipes  supply- 
ing these  lights.  If  all  lights  flicker  the  trou- 
ble may  be  looked  for  in  the  main  house 
service  pipe.  The  water  should  be  removed, 
either  at  the  fixture  keys,  or  else  at  low 
places  where  ••  siphons"  are  provided  in 
the  distribution  system. 

Where  a  wet  meter  is  used,  this  bobbing 
up  or  down  is  sometimes  caused  by  there 
being  either  too  much  or  too  little  water 
in  the  gas  meter. 

Where  the  gas  lights,  as  sometimes  hap- 
pen, flicker  in  several  adjoining  houses,  the 
cause  is,  obviously,  not  to  be  looked  for  in 
the  house  service,  but  in  the  street  mains, 


106 

and  in  such  a  case  the  gas  company  should 
be  notified, 

(/.)  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  gas 
consumer  cannot  get  sufficient  pressure  to 
supply  his  burners,  and  an  insufficient  illu- 
mination is  the  result.  The  trouble  is  usual- 
ly, by  laymen,  attributed  to  the  poor  qual- 
it}T  of  the  gas,  whereas  the  real  source  of  the 
difficulty  will,  in  most  cases,  be  found  in 

(1.)  Insufficient  pressure  at  the  gas 
works,  or 

(2.)  Too  small  or  obstructed  gas  mains 
in  the  street,  or  in  siphons  in  street  mains 
which  have  become  filled  with  water;  but, 
if  confined  to  a  single  house,  the  trouble 
is  due  to 

(3.)  Insufficient  or  obstructed  house 
service  pipes. 

(4,)  To  gas  meU-rs  of  insufficient  size  or 
capacity,  or  to  an  obstruction  in  the  meter. 

(5.)  To  insufficient  capacity  or  obstruc- 
tion of  the  house  pipes. 

(6.)  To  obstructions  in  the  tubing  or 
keys  of  gas-fixtures, 

(7.)  To  defective,  obstructed  or  in- 
sufficiently large  burners. 


107 


Sometimes  the  trouble  is  due  to  the  use 
of  bad  pressure  regulators,  or  to  the  use 
cf  pressure  regulators  in  districts  where 
the  gas  pressure  at  best  is  poor. 

(g.}  The  roaring  or  hissing  sound  of  a 
gas  jet  indicates  that  the  trouble  lies  in 
the  opposite  direction,  viz. :  That  there  is 
too  much  pressure  in  the  house  pipes  or  at 
the  burners,  and  that  the  consumer  is  pay- 
ing for  gas  wasted. 

The  best  results  in  gas  illumination  are 
always  obtained  when  gas  issues  at  the 
orifices  of  the  burners  with  a  slow  velocity, 
through  large  burner  slits  or  holes.  This 
pressure  of  illuminating  gas  is  measured  in 
tenths  of  inches  of  a  column  of . water,  and 
the  rule  is  that  the  pressure  at  the  gas 
meter  should  not  exceed  six  tenths  or 
seven-tenths  of  an  inch;  the  loss  in  pass- 
ing through  the  meter  amounts  to  one- 
tenth  to  two-tenth  inches,  the  loss  through 
friction  in  the  pipes,  if  these  are  properly 
adjusted  in  calibre,  one-tenth  of  an  inch, 
leaving  a  pressure  of  gas  at  the  burners  of 
four-tenths  to  five-tenths  of  an  inch. 

The  consumer  should   rejnilale  and  re* 


108 

duce  any  excessive  pressure.  This  may, 
to  some  extent,  be  accomplished  either  by 
partly  closing  the  main  stop  cock  at  the 
gas  meter,  or  by  partially  turning  off  and 
adjusting  carefully  the  taps  at  each  bur- 
ner. Both  methods  are  imperfect  as  far 
as  the  regulation  of  the  pressure  is  con- 
cerned, because  the  pressure  continually 
varies.  The  better  remedy  consists  in  the 
use  of  either  pressure  regulators,  attached 
to  the  main  service  pipe  at  the  house  side 
of  the  meter  which  regulate  the  pressure 
in  the  pipes  automatically,  or,  in  the  use  of 
check  burners,  or  better,  volumetric  gover- 
nor burners. 

(h.)  If  a  dwelling  adjoins  a  theatre? 
hall  of  amusement,  or  a  large  store  or 
manufacturing  establishment,  where  a 
great  number  of  lights  are  kept  burning, 
the  gas  jets  will  often  jump  up  suddenly 
owing  to  an  increase  in  the  gas  pressure 
caused  by  the  sudden  turning  off  of  a  large 
number  of  lights  when  the  above  establish- 
ments are  closed. 

For  all  dwellings  so  located,  a  gas 
governor  attached  to  the  house  pipe  near 


109 

the  gas  meter,  or  on   every  floor,  will  be 
of  much  usefulness. 

(i.)  The  smoking  of  walls  and  ceilings 
can  be  avoided  by  the  use  of  improved 
burners.  It  can  also  be  remedied  by  the 
use  of  mica  smoke  catchers,  attached  to 
the  top  qf  globes,  or  of  chimneys  of 
Argand  burners,  or  by  smoke  bells  or 
shields  of  glass  or  metal,  hung  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches  above  the  gas  jets. 

CONSUMPTION  OF  GAS  AND  CJNTKOL  AND 
REDUCTION  OF  GAS  BILLS. 

Assuming  the  average  burner  consump- 
tion to  be  5  cubic  feet  per  hour,  the  cost 
of  a  single  gas-light  per  hour,  taking  gas 
at  its  present  price  in  N.  Y,  City  and 
in  Brooklyn,  viz ,  $1.25  per  1,000  cubic 
feet,  would  be 

5  X  125 

-3^oo":=  °'625  cents' 

Assuming  the  average  number  of  hours 
per  year  for  each  gas  flame  to  be  1,500, 
which  corresponds  to  the  time  from  sunset 
until  ten  o'clock  each  night  during  the  en- 
tire year,  we  have 


110 

1,500  X  .625  =  $9.37K  cents 

as  the  average  yearly   cost  of  each  gas 
flame. 

When  the  gas  flames  are  kept  burning 
on  the  average  from  sunset  until  midnight, 
the  average  annual  number  of  hours  is 
2,250,  and  therefore  we  have 

2,250  X  .625  =  $14.06Ji  cents 

as  the  yearly  cost  of  each  burner. 

For  gas  jets  burning  constantly,  day  and 
night,  such  as  are  used  in  connection  with 
ventilating  gas  jet  burners  in  vent  flues  of 
water  closets  or  toilet  rooms,  the  annual 
cost  of  a  gas  flame  would  be  approximately 

24  X  5  X  1.25 

1,000       *  X  365  =  $54'75' 

If  the  burner  consumes  3  and  4  instead 
of  5  cubic  feet  per  hour,  the  cost  would  be 
reduced  to  $32.85  and  $43.80  respectively. 

The  following  useful  Table  I.,  compiled 
by  a  German  gas  engineer,  gives  the  hours 
of  burning  gas  at  different  seasons  of  the 
year,  for  the  latitude  of  Dresden : 


0? 

9 

'  "'  o  x  to  en  to  Si  o  o  to-    S 

;al  Consum 
nb.  Ft.  per  ^ 

om  sunset 

12  P.M. 

Is 

iijjJMiil 

1;:! 

g   tOK-O 

P 

£ 
•r. 

liiiiisiiisis 

E 

p  S  g  S 

— 

M 

giillliilips 

P* 

to  to  to  i— 

OO  X  ^  O 

P 

M 

h^ 

2  .0  g  o  x  §  3  w  £5  2§  ^  oo 

S 

Solo 

O1 

N^                       .           w.                           ^ 

to  K)  H*  ^ 

g 

O^Ci-^ltO^loCW—   —X~3CS 

| 

IIII 

O 

.  n 

Ml^»*M 

*w 

H-H-r* 

? 

in^S?S 

^ 

^x-^^-3cr.^ooorf-^^ 

1 

1 

0 

iii3 

1 

M 

c_, 

^\»^^!^ 

NC«o&gso»Sat»co»§«oi 

OS  to  O  O  -3  W  X  ^  W  CT  cs  CtO 

1 

p 

iisg 

IH 
0 
p 

•—  (_l 

i^SSS2SSS2"*S8ft 

1 

to  to  eo  os 

*-  *-  cc  to 

•H 
^ 

ii2iiii"iii»i? 

I 

0  01  tO  O 

OQ 

02 

?i-7*j~i-ir- 

GO 

S  o  o  o 

« 

i 

to  to  i—  >  1-1 

| 

lll§ilESI§§is 

R 

tO  10  1C  h-» 

f  ;  _  _    / 

en  o  o  c 

2 

^"l-ti-il-i^bOh-l-ih-i 

ilslliigisgli 

.3 

i||| 

u 
P 

I 

o  en  x  S 

?* 

112 


The  daily,  weekly,  monthly  and  yearly 
gas  consumption  may  also  be  approximate- 
ly calculated  by  recording  the  number  of 
gas  lights  in  the  occupied  rooms  of  a  house 
and  the  respective  hours  during  which  they 
are  kept  burning  each  evening.  Of  course, 
it  is  necessary  to  know  the  consumption 
of  gas  at  the  various  gas  burners,  and 
where  volumetric  gas  burners  are  in  use, 
this  is  an  easy  matter.  With  these  data 
on  hand,  the  monthly  gas  bill  can  be 
checked  very  nicely  within  certain  limits. 
See  the  following  example: 


1= 

o    . 

•d 

CM 
I 

Si 

|i 

I  Number  of 
|BurnersLight< 

Consumption 
each  Burner 

Number  of 
hours  for 
each  Burner, 

Gas  consume 
per  day. 

Ju 

Kitchen, 

1 

3! 

2 

7  cub.  ft. 

Dining  room, 

2 

52 

M 

15 

Library, 

3 

4 

3 

36 

Hall, 

1 

3 

2 

6         ; 

Bedroom  No.  1 

1 

4 

1 

4       ' 

No.  2 

1 

4 

1 

4       ' 

No.  3 

1 

4 

1 

4       < 

Bath  room, 

1 

4 

* 

2       * 

Per  night,         78  cub.  ft. 


113 


Or  30  X  78  =  2,340  cubic  feet,  at  $1.25  = 
$2.93,  as  the  monthly  gas  bill. 

It  is  recommended  to  gas  consumers  to 
keep  a  small  book  in  which  the  gas  con- 
sumption and  the  gas  bills  are  regularly 
entered  from  month  to  month.  A  simple 
schedule  for  such  a  book  is  the  following: 


"3 

§^j 
5 

§ 

0       . 

bo  g 

OD    ^^ 

In  ^ 

+3      3 

Date. 

o  IB 

ft^- 

1        " 

a  ^ 

fl  o 

8  o 

s  S) 

H 

«.2 

£ 

3 

January  1st, 

8760 

January  31st, 

12540 

3780 

$1.25 

$4.73 

February  28th, 

14970 

2430 

1.25 

3.04 

March  31st, 

16990 

2020 

1.25 

2.53 

Again,  the  consumption  of  the  corres- 
ponding months  of  successive  years  may 
be  compared  in  a  summary  like  the  follow- 
ing: 


Month  of  Year. 

1889. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

Etc. 

January  

Cubic 

Feet. 

Cubic 
Feet. 

Cubic 
Feet. 

Cubic 

Feet. 

Cubic 
Feet. 

February  

March   

April,  etc  

114 

Table  II.  (see  page  111,)  is  also  useful  in 
comparing  the  proportionate  consumption 
of  gas  during  the  different  months  of  one 
year.  In  this  table  it  is  assumed  that  the 
same  number  of  gas-lights  is  kept  burning 
regularly  in  a  house  during  successive 
months,  the  number  of  hours  per  month 
varying  as  per  Table  I. 

The  use  of  Table  II.  will  be  readily 
understood  from  the  following  example: 
During  the  month  of  June  the  consump- 
tion of  gas  in  a  dwelling  amounted  to 
2,700  cubic  feet  of  gas;  what  will  the  con- 
sumption in  the  same  house  be  in  Decem- 
ber, if  the  same  number  of  burners  are  in 
use?  Answer:  The  consumption  in  De- 
cember would  be  — 

t)  9Ji 

2,700  X  =  6,050  cubic  feet. 


Or,  if  the  consumption  of  gas  for  the 
month  of  September  is  equal  to  3,000 
cubic  feet,  what  would  be  the  annual  con- 
sumption ?  Answer: 

12,618 
3,000  x    1  QQQ  ^  37,854  cubic  feet. 


115 

In  large  establishments  it  is  suggested 
to  keep  a  daily  record  of  the  gas  meter* 
readings.  This  will  not  only  enable  one 
to  detect  wasteful  use  of  gas  and  leakages, 
but  it  will  also  show  whether  the  meter 
continues  to  work  properly. 

A  foreman  should  be  entrusted  with 
this  matter  and  with  the  keeping  of  a 
monthly  gas  consumption  account  book. 
This  man  should  also  have  charge  of  the 
gas  meter  or  meters,  of  the  gas  pressure 
regulator,  and  of  the  burners.  It  should 
also  be  his  duty  to  attend  to  the  periodical 
cleaning  of  the  burners,  shades,  chimneys 
and  globes,  and  he  should  renew  defective 
and  worn  out  burners,  or  broken,  cracked 
or  split  lava  tips. 

How  TO  REDUCE  HIGH  GAS  BILLS. 

In  order  to  reduce  high  gas  bills  the 
householder  should  endeavor  to  follow  the 
hints  given  above. 

He  should  above  all  make  sure  that  his 
gas-pipes  and  gas-fixtures  are  absolutely 
tight  and  that  there  is  no  leakage  and 
waste  of  gas  anywhere  on  his  premises. 


116 

He  should  endeavor  to  obtain  a  maxi- 
mum amount  of  illumination  with  a  mini- 
mum gas  consumption  by  using  only  the 
best  kind  of  gas-burners  and  the  most 
improved  forms  of  glass  globes,  with 
shadowless  holders. 

He  should,  moreover,  use  either  pressure 
regulators  or  governor  burners,  in  case  of 
excessive  gas  pressure. 

Finally,  he  should  read  the  index  of  his 
gas  meter  frequently  to  make  sure  that 
there  is  no  wasteful  use  of  gas  by  children 
or  servants,  and  also  to  control  approxi- 
mately the  gas  consumption. 

How   TO   READ   THE   INDEX   OF  THE   GAS 
METER. 

Every  gas  consumer  ought  to  be  able  to 
read  the  index  of  his  own  gas  meter,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  tell  how  much  gas  he 
consumes  per  month,  or  to  very  if  y  the 
monthly  account  rendered  by  the  gas 
company,  and  to  check  at  once  any  waste- 
ful consumption  in  his  household. 


117 

Different  gas  meters  vary  slightly  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  dials.  In  larger  meters 
there  are  four  or  even  five  dials,  but  those 
in  general  use  for  dwelling  houses  and 
stores  have  only  three  dials.  Fig.  1  is  an 


CUBIC 


FEET. 


1OO  Thousand        1.O  Thousand  1  Thousand 


Fig.  1        Read  48.7OO  Cubic  F,.wU 

illustration  of  the  index  of  a  dry  meter  as 
commonly  used.  The  small  index  hand  D 
at  the  upper  dial  is  not  taken  into  consid- 
eration by  the  meter  inspector  when  taking 
his  monthly  record  of  the  state  of  the  me- 
ter. Each  complete  revolution  of  this  in- 


118 

dex  hand  (usually  a  smaller  one)  is  equiva- 
lent to  a  consumption  of  two  cubic  feet. 
This  index  is  intended  merely  for  testing 
purposes,  and  it  is  useful  for  ascertaining 
the  rate  of  consumption  of  gas,  or  for  de- 
tecting leaks  in  the  gas  pipe  or  gas-fixture 
system,  as  will  be  explained  below. 

The  three  dials  which  record  the  con- 
sumption of  gas  are  marked  A,  B  and  C, 
and  each  complete  revolution  of  their  in- 
dex hand  denotes  1,000, 10,000  and  100,000 
cubic  feet  respectively.  It  is  important  to 
note  that  the  index  hands  on  the  three  di- 
als do  not  travel  in  the  same  direction,  for 
index  A  and  C  move  from  left  to  right 
(same  as  the  minute  hand  of  a  watch),  while 
index  B  moves  from  right  to  left. 

When  a  new  gas  meter  is  set  in  a  house, 
and  before  any  gas  is  burnt,  the  three  in- 
dex hands  point  to  zero.  When  gas  begins 
to  pass  through  the  meter,  index  A  moves 
first  toward  the  right.  When  it  reaches 
the  figure  1  it  signifies  that  one  hundred 
cubic  feet  have  passed  through  the  meter 
(whether  consumed,  wasted,  or  lost  by  leak- 
age).  As  the  consumption  increases  index 


119 

A  passes  successively  the  figures  2,  3,  4^ 
etc.,  up  to  9,  and  when  it  again  reaches  the 
zero  point  1,000  cubic  feet  have  passed 
through  the  meter,  and  index  B,  on  the 
middle  dial,  will  now  stand  at  figure  1,  de- 
noting that  one-tenth  of  10,000,  or  1,000 
cubic  feet  haye  been  used.  When  index  A 
completes  its  second  revolution,  index  B 
will  have  moved  to  figure  2  on  the  central 
dial,  and  so  on. 

When  index  B  has  completed  a  whole 
revolution,  arriving  back  at  zero,  it  denotes 
a  total  consumption  of  10,000  cubic  feet, 
and  now  index  C  will  have  moved  from  zero 
to  1,  indicating  one-tenth  of  100,000  as  the 
consumption.  When  the  hand  C  has  made 
a  complete  revolution,  the  consumption  will 
be  100,000,  and  the  three  hands  will  again 
stand  at  zero,  and  in  taking  the  next  read- 
ing it  is  necessary  to  add  100,000  to  the 
new  reading  of  the  meter. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  position  of  the 
three  hands  as  shown  in  Fig.  1.  The  read" 
ing  would  be  40,000+8,000+700=48,700. 
Suppose  that  after  the  lapse  of  three  months 
the  meter  should  indicate  as  in  Fig.  ^. 


320 


The  reading,  in  this  case,  would  be  60,000 
+  4,000  +  900  =  64,900.    Therefore,  if  we 


CUBIC 


FEET. 


1OO  Thousand   1O  Thousand    1  Thousand 


Fig,  2   Read  64.,9OO  Cubic  Feet. 

subtract  the  second  from  the  first  reading, 
we  have 

64,900 
less  48,700 


=  16,200  cubic  feet 

as  the  gas  consumption  during  the  period 
of  three  months. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  preceding,  that 


121 


ordinarily  the  reading  of  the  index  of  a  gas 
meter  presents  no  difficulty.  There  occur, 
however,  certain  positions  of  the  hands  on 
the  dials  which  to  the  inexperienced  may 
be  puzzling,  such,  for  instance,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  3.  A  person  would  be  very  apt  to 


1OO  Thousand         1O  Thousand  1  Thousand 


Fig.  3       Head  9Q,9OO  Cubic  Feet. 


make  a  mistake  here  in  taking  the  reading 
down  as  91,900.  If  this  were  correct,  in- 
dex B  should  stand  very  near  to  figure  2 
instead  of  at  figure  1.  By  referring  to  dial 
A  it  is  evident  that  index  B  has  not  yet 


122 

reached  figure  1,  as  index  A  stands  at  9? 
and  the  correct  reading  is  therefore  90.900. 

It  is  easy  to  avoid  such  errors  by  remem- 
bering the  rule  to  take  the  figure  on  the 
index  which  the  hand  has  passed,  and  not 
the  figure  which  it  is  approaching.  If  the 
reading  is  difficult  because  the  index  hand 
is  almost  over  a  figure,  the  correct  reading 
can  be  decided  by  referring  to  the  next 
dial  to  the  right,  on  which  the  hand  will 
be  between  0  and  1  if  the  figure  in  ques- 
tion has  been  passed,  whereas  it  will  stand 
between  9  and  0  if  the  figure  has  not  yet 
been  reached. 

A  little  practice  will  soon  enable  anyone 
to  read  his  gas  meter  as  easily  as  he  reads 
the  time  on  his  watch,  and  it  is  well  to 
make  it  a  rule  to  do  so,  for  misunderstand- 
ings with  gas  companies,  and  complaints 
about  exorbitant  gas  bills,  are  sure  to  grow 
less  wherever  the  consumption  of  gas  is 
ascertained  and  checked  by  the  consumer 
at  frequent  intervals. 


123 

How   TO   ASCERTAIN    THE    QUANTITY    OF 
GAS  CONSUMED* 

The  small  dial  of  the  gas  meter  is  useful 
for  ascertaining,  with  a  reasonable  degree 
of  accuracy,  the  consumption  of  gas  from 
one  or  more  burners  in  various  parts  of  a 
house,  or  the  hourly  consumption  of  a 
gaslog,  or  fire-place  heater  or  a  cooking 
gas  stove. 

Note  the  exact  number  of  burners 
lighted,  make  sure  that  no  others  are  put 
in  use  during  the  test,  and  note  either  the 
number  of  cubic  feet  consumed  during  a 
measured  period  of  time,  say  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  or  an  hour,  or  else  see  how  much 
time  in  minutes  it  requires  for  the  small 
index  hand  to  travel  from  one  cubic  foot 
mark  to  the  next  full  foot.  From  these 
data  the  actual  consumption  is  readily 
ascertained  by  a  simple  calculation. 

How  TO  DETECT  GAS  LEAKS  OR  ESCAPES 
OF  GAS. 

There  is  a  very  simple  and  effective 
method  by  which  every  consumer  may 


134 

readity  and  with  very  little  trouble  ascer- 
tain whether  there  is  any  escape  of  gas  on 
his  premises.  Make  sure  that  none  of  the 
burner  keys  are  open,  and  with  the  main 
stop  cock  at  the  meter  open,  notice  care- 
fully for  some  length  of  time  the  position 
of  the  index  hand  on  the  small  upper  dial 
of  the  meter  index.  If  it  moves,  it  is  a 
sure  indication  that  there  is  either  a  gas 
escape  or  a  leak  somewhere.  By  noting 
the  time  required  for  the  index  hand  to 
travel  once  around  the  small  dial,  the 
actual  quantity  of  gas  escaping,  in  other 
words,  the  extent  of  the  leak,  may  be 
ascertained  with  accuracy. 

It  is  equally  feasible  to  detect  an  escape 
of  gas  by  the  sense  of  hearing.  Place 
your  ear  on  the  meter  casing,  and  if  you 
notice  a  rumbling  sound,  it  is  a  sign  that 
gas  is  passing  through  the  meter  and  that 
there  is  a  leak  somewhere. 

THE    USE    OF    GAS    FOR     COOKING    AND 
HEATING. 

For  many  years  after  the  invention  of 
gas-lighting,  coal  gas  was  regarded  only 


125 

as  a  useful  medium  for  obtaining  artificial 
light.  But,  besides  serving  the  purpose  of 
lighting  our  streets,  parks  and  squares,  and 
our  dwelling?,  stores,  offices,  workshops 
and  places  of  amusement,  there  are  many 
other  uses  to  which  coal  gas  can  be  put,  in 
dwellings  as  well  as  in  workshops. 

Coal  gas  is,  beyond  doubt,  eminently 
adapted  as  a  fuel  for  cooking  and  for 
heating,  and  gaseous  fuel  has  more  re- 
cently begun  to  be  recognized  as  playing 
an  important  role  in  promoting  domestic 
comfort  and  rendering  household  duties 
pleasant. 

Cooking  as  well  as  heating  by  gas  is 
rapidly  extending  and  becoming  more 
popular  as  its  many  advantages  are  be- 
coming recognized.  Moreover,  each  year 
witnesses  new  and  successful  applications 
of  gas,  such  as  heating  laundry  irons, 
heating  water  for  bath  purposes,  not  to 
mention  an  almost  endless  list  of  industrial 
and  commercial  purposes  in  which  gaseous 
fuel  is  employed  as  a  source  of  heat. 

"  It  is  only  a  question  of  time,"  says  C. 
W.  Siemens,  the  famous  inventor,  "  when 


126 

the  solid  fuel  will  be  replaced  by  gaseous 
fuel,  particularly  by  the  coal  gas  whereby 
the  present  enormous  waste  of  fuel  will  be 
effectually  prevented." 

Indeed,  it  does  not  require  a  prophet  to 
foresee  that  in  the  same  manner  as  gas- 
light, although  more  costly,  replaced  the 
illumination  by  candles  or  by  oil  lamps, 
so  will  gaseous  fuel  in  time  replace  the 
solid  fuels,  such  as  wood  and  coal. 

It  is  but  natural  that  at  first  many 
deeply  rooted  prejudices  had  to  be  over- 
come, which  greatly  retarded  the  extended 
application  of  gas  as  a  source  of  heat.  One 
serious  objection  to  the  use  of  gaseous  fuel 
was  the  high  price  of  the  gas,  but  with  the 
general  and  considerable  reduction  made 
recently  in  the  price  charged  by  gas  com- 
panies, cooking  and  heating  by  gas  have 
become  more  economical,  and  now  it  may 
be  truthfully  asserted  at  least  of  cooking 
by  gas  that  it  is  cheaper  than  cooking  with 
coal. 

As  the  many  merits  and  advantages  of  the 
new  method  became  more  widely  recogniz- 
ed and  the  value  of  gaseous  fuel  more  ap- 


127 

predated,  the  popular  prejudice  that  cook- 
ing and  heating  by  gas  are  only  adapted 
for  the  rich,  was  gradually  overcome,  until 
now  it  is  sufficiently  demonstrated  that  g-is 
as  a  fuel  is,  on  the  contrary,  especially 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  small  household. 

For  cooking  with  gas,  small,  simply  con- 
structed appliances  for  conveniently  and 
quickly  heating  water  or  warming  food  by 
attaching  same  directly  to  illuminating  fix- 
tures were  first  brought  out.  Then  came 
the  cheaper  forms  of  portable  gas  cooking 
stoves,  which  are  plain  in  arrangement  and 
may  be  set  on  the  kitchen  range  and  con- 
nected by  a  flexible  gas  tube  to  the  nearest 
gas  pipe.  More  recently  elaborate,  com- 
pact, convenient  and  more  or  less  costly  ap- 
pliances have  been  perfected  for  the  com- 
plete preparation  of  all  food,  and  these  are 
usually  connected  with  the  gas  supply 
pipes  in  a  permanent  manner. 

For  heating  by  gas  various  appliances 
have  likewise  been  devised,  giving  quickly 
an  intense  and  direct  radiant  heat,  suita- 
ble for  warming  rooms,  in  the  shape  of 


128 

gas  stoves,  gas  radiators,  gas  logs  and  gas 
grate  fires. 

Enterprising  manufacturers  are  now  do- 
ing excellent  work  in  getting  up  an  end- 
less variety  of  pleasing  as  well  as  useful 
designs  of  well  constructed,  efficient  cook- 
ing and  heating  stoves  and  ranges,  in  which 
gaseous  fuel,  the  "  fuel  of  the  future,"  as  it 
is  so  aptly  termed,  is  employed,  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  solid  and  liquid  fuels  employed 
in  the  past,  such  as  coal,  wood,  peat,  coke, 
oil,  gasoline,  alcohol,  etc. 

There  have  been  so  many  improvements 
in  these  apparatus  that  cooking  by  gas  will 
soon  become  common  in  all  kitchens,  while 
the  use  of  gas  heating  stoves,  or  of  gas  grate 
fires  and  gas  logs  will  likewise  increase. 

While  much  progress  has  been  attained 
in  the  past,  much  more  may  be  accom- 
plished in  the  future,  if  gas  companies 
would  offer  to  their  consumers  all  possible 
encouragement  and  all  reasonable  facili- 
ties for  using  gas  as  a  fuel.  Inasmuch 
as  the  use  of  coal  gas  as  a  source  of 
light  is  at  present  somewhat  in  danger 
of  suffering  seriously  by  competition  with 


129 

the  electric  light,  gas  companies  should 
welcome  and  promote  all  efforts  tending 
to  increase  the  day  use  of  gas.  They 
should  try  to  popularize  the  use  of  gas- 
not  only  by  exhibitions  of  proper  light, 
ing  appliances,  improved  gas  burners  and 
gas  lamps,  but  also  by  exhibiting  to  the 
public  at  their  offices  a  suitable  collec- 
tion of  gas  cooking  and  gas  heating  ap- 
paratus, and  enlightening  the  public  as  to 
the  use  of  the  same  by  lectures  and  prac- 
tical demonstrations  on  cooking,  and  by  dis- 
tributing practical  and  popular  pamphlets 
on  the  subject. 

It  is,  furthermore,  desirable  that  gas  com- 
panies should  encourage  the  use  of  gaseous 
fuel  by  establishing  a  lower  price  for  gas 
consumed  in  cooking  and  heating  stoves,  as 
is  already  done  in  many  cities  of  Europe 
and  in  a  few  places  in  the  United  States. 

Furthermore,  gas  companies  may  increase 
their  revenues  by  the  renting  out  of  gas 
cooking  and  gas  heating  appliances  to  peo- 
ple of  small  means. 

With  the  increased  use  of  coal  gas  in  the 
household  gas  works  would  become  central 


130 

stations,  as  it  were,  for  the  production  and 
distribution  of  heat  as  well  as  light. 

Owing  to  the  cheaper  price  at  which  the 
non-luminous  water  gas  can  be  manufac- 
tured, some  have  proposed  to  utilize  it  for 
cooking  and  heating  purposes,  but  this 
would  require  a  double  system  of  gas  mains 
in  our  streets,  and  as  this  obviously  would 
add  complication  without  opening  up  new 
uses  for  the  coal  gas  employed  in  lighting, 
the  proposition  has  been  rejected  as  im- 
practicable. 

Of  course,  it  is  necessary,  in  arranging 
for  a  supply  of  coal  gas  in  dwellings  for 
cooking  or  warming  purposes,  that  inde- 
pendent and  separate  lines  of  gas  distribu- 
ting pipes  from  those  for  the  lighting  of  the 
premises  be  put  in,  and  these  lines  from 
the  house  side  of  the  gas  meter  to  the  gas 
heating  and  gas  cooking  appliances  should 
be  proportioned  ample  in  size  for  the  ser- 
vice which  they  have  to  perform. 

The  branch  supply  pipe  to  small  gas 
ranges,  gas  stoves  and  gaslogs  should  not  be 
less  than  one-half  inch  bore.  A  gas  riser 
from  which  two  gaslogs  are  supplied,  should 


131 

be  %  inch  in  diameter,  and  where  three  DA- 
more  gaslogs  are  supplied  it  should  be 
increased  to  1  inch.  Larger  gas  cooking 
ranges  require  supply  pipes  from  %  to  1M 
inch  in  size,  according  to  the  number  of 
burners  and  the  estimated  consumption  of 
each  of  these. 

The  same  gas  service  pipe  from  the  street 
main  to  the  house  will  usually  answer  the 
purpose,  but  a  gas  meter  of  larger  capacity 
generally  becomes  necessary.  It  is  even 
better  to  have  a  separate  gas  meter,  or  at 
least  an  intermediate  meter  on  the  fuel 
supply  line,  to  keep  a  proper  control  and 
to  prevent  wasteful  use  of  gas  cooking 
appliances,  and  also  to  ascertain  by  com- 
parison with  coal  the  cost  of  cooking  and 
heating  by  gas. 

Another  caution  of  equal  importance 
which  should  be  observed  is  that  wherever 
gaseous  fuel  is  used  for  cooking,  heating  or 
warming  bath  water  there  should  be  an 
outlet  flue  provided  for  the  complete  re- 
moval of  the  products  of  combustion,  and 
no  gas  stove  should  be  considered  safe 
without  such  a  flue. 


132 

Finally,  although  gas  cooking  and  heat- 
ing appliances  require  a  stronger  pressure 
of  gas  than  is  best  adapted  for  gas  burners 
for  lighting,  this  gas  pressure  should  be 
uniform  and  not  excessive ;  and  in  order  to 
control  same  it  is  advisable  to  place  on  the 
fuel  gas  service  pipe  a  good  pressure  regu- 
lator to  maintain  a  constant  and  equable 
pressure  in  the  gas  supply. 

COOKING  BY  GAS. 

In  the  majority  of  dwelling-houses  we 
find  gas  cooking  stoves  used  as  an  auxili- 
ary means  for  preparing  the  food  during 
hot  weather,  or  else  they  are  brought  into 
use  when  extra  meals  are  required. 

It  is  a  common  experience  that  wherever 
servants  once  get  used  to  gas  cooking  stoves 
in  this  way,  they  will  thereafter  prefer  this 
method  to  the  coal  range  or  the  oil  stove. 

The  modern  improved  gas  cooking 
ranges  are  so  perfect  in  construction  and 
equipment  as  to  form  complete  substitutes 
for  the  cumbersome  coal  ranges.  They  en- 
able the  cook  to  perform  all  the  numerous 
cooking  processes,  such  as  boiling  and  roast- 


133 

ing,  stewing  and  frying,  broiling,  toasting 
and  baking,  and  they  also  heat  the  water 
in  the  house  boiler.  Their  efficiency  is 
largely  the  result  of  the  adaptation  of,  and 
improvements  in,  the  atmospheric  or  non- 
luminous  burner  which  gives  little  light  but 
an  intense,  .  even  and  readily  controlled 
heat.  While  it  is  true  that  some  excellent 
cooking  ranges  are  made  in  which  the  lum- 
inous flame  is  retained,  the  majority  of 
gas  cooking  appliances  have  atmospheric 
or  Bunsen  burners  adapted  for  cooking,  and 
it  must  be  conceded  that  the  latter  class  of 
burners  have  the  practical  advantage  that 
cooking  utensils  are  kept  more  free  from 
soot. 

It  would  be  impossible,  in  a  general  arti- 
cle on  this  interesting  subject,  to  give  a 
detailed  description  of  the  construction  of 
modern  gas  cooking  apparatus,  and  I  must 
refer  the  reader  in  search  of  such  informa- 
tion to  the  many  well  illustrated  catalogues 
of  the  manufacturers. 

Not  only  in  private  houses  are  gas  cook- 
ing ranges  found  useful  and  convenient, 
they  have  been  fitted  up  in  large  establish- 


134 

ments,  such  as  restaurants,  oyster  and  chop 
houses,  club  houses  and  hotels,  in  hospitals 
and  public  institutions,  in  prisons  and  mili- 
tary barracks,  in  seminaries,  cooking- 
schools,  and  in  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, and  the  general  experience  has 
been  that  they  work  very  successfully  and 
that  the  cooking  is  done  economically. 

I  will  briefly  state  a  few  of  the  principal 
advantages  of  cooking  by  gas. 

Cooking  by  gas  is  less  expensive  and  less 
troublesome  than  by  coal  or  wood,  oil 
or  gasoline,  and  it  is  more  healthful  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  waste  heat,  of 
smoke,  dust  and  smell. 

A  gas  cooking  range  is  always  ready  for 
use,  even  at  unusual  hours.  There  is  no 
loss  of  time  in  starting  the  kitchen  fire. 
No  carrying  of  coal  and  kindling  wood  is 
necessary,  because  gaseous  fuel  is  readily 
conveyed  in  small,  tight  pipes  to  any  place 
in  the  house  where  wanted,  and  is  at  once 
ready  for  use. 

The  gas  range  is  instantly  lighted  by 
applying  a  match  to  the  burner;  there  is 
no  waiting  for  the  fire  to  burn  up  briskly 


135 

or  the  oven  to  get  hot;  no  delay  of  any 
kind;  the  fire  when  lighted  is  at  once  capa- 
ble of  doing  its  full  work,  any  degree  of 
heat  can  be  almost  instantly  had  and  the 
flame  is  just  as  quickly  extinguished  when 
the  work  of  the  cook  is  done  and  fire  is 
not  wanted,  and  from  this  moment  all  con- 
sumption of  fuel  ceases. 

Any  food  wanted  in  case  of  emergency, 
or  for  a  large  party  can  be  gotten  ready 
in  a  short  time  at  all  hours  of  the  day  or 
night,  and  no  extra  fire  need  be  maintained 
for  such  exceptional  cases. 

A  gas  range  is  more  easily  kept  clean 
than  a  coal  range.  No  poking  of  the  fire, 
no  cleaning  and  shaking  of  the  grate,  no 
knocking  off  of  clinkers  is  required.  There 
is  no  dirt,  no  smoke,  no  soot,  and  no  carry- 
ing away  of  ashes. 

Gas  ranges  are,  for  all  these  reasons,  a 
source  of  great  comfort  and  convenience  to 
the  housewife,  and  a  saving  of  labor  to  the 
domestic  or  the  cook.  In  the  absence  of 
servants  the  cooking  can  be  performed  by 
the  housewife  without  much  trouble  or  dis- 
comfort. 


136 

A  gas  cooking  range  is  better  and  more 
easily  controlled  and  regulated  than  a  coal 
range,  and  the  cooking  is  performed  quicker. 
The  combustion  in  the  gas  range  is  perf  ect> 
the  heat  of  the  fire  is  even  and  uniform, 
and  can  be  adjusted  perfectly  and  at  will. 
The  fire  needs  no  constant  watching  or  fre- 
quent looking  after  and  replenishing,  and 
it  is,  of  course,  perfectly  safe  as  regards 
danger  from  fire. 

Above  all,  there  is  no  discomfort  in  sum- 
mer time  from  the  overheating  of  the  kitch- 
en due  to  a  coal  range.  When  a  fire  is  not 
wanted,  it  is  at  once  put  out  by  the  simple 
turning  of  the  gas  key  or  valve.  The  ex- 
act consumption  of  fuel  is  recorded  by  the 
gas  meter,  and  any  useless  waste  can  be 
readily  checked.  Hence,  if  properly  man- 
aged, there  is  in  a  gas  range  absolutely  no 
waste  of  fuel  as  in  the  case  of  coal  or  wood 
kitchen  ranges,  while  the  room  remains 
cool  and  comfortable,  because  as  soon  as 
the  gas  is  shut  off  there  is  no  further  radi- 
ation of  heat. 

Moreover,  food  cooked  on  gas  ranges  be- 
comes more  palatable  and  nutritious .  there 


137 

is  less  loss  of  weight,  and  the  meats  and 
roasts  remain  more  juicy,  while  all  cooking 
operations  are  performed  more  quickly. 

Cooking  by  gas  also  requires  no  storage 
or  handling  of  solid  or  liquid  fuel. 

Again,  gas  cooking  ranges  are  simple  in 
construction  and  very  durable  and  require 
few  if  any  repairs,  and  the  expensive  and 
annoying  frequent  relining  of  the  fire  pot 
with  fire  bricks,  as  in  coal  ranges,  is  done 
away  with. 

Compared  with  oil  cooking  ranges,  gas 
ranges  are  far  superior  in  management. 
There  is  'no  handling  of  the  oil  fuel,  no  fill- 
ing of  oil  reservoirs,  with  its  incidental  bad 
smell,  soiling  of  hands  and  danger  from 
fire.  There  is,  furthermore,  no  adjustment 
or  trimming  of  wicks,  no  oil  smoke  and  no 
disagreeable  odor. 

It  is,  moreover,  true  that  in  a  given  space 
one  can  do  more  work  on  a  gas  range  than 
on  a  coal  range  of  corresponding  size,  and 
finally  it  may  be  worth  while  to  mention 
that  where  the  larger  sizes  of  gas  ranges  are 
installed,  these  are  always  so  arranged  that 
each  burner  can  be  lighted  separately,  thus 


138 

enabling  the  cook  to  prepare  food  on  one 
and  the  same  apparatus  economically,  for 
a  few  as  well  as  for  a  great  many  persons. 

It  follows  from  the  above  that  the  use 
of  gas  in  the  preparation  of  the  dishes  is 
valuable  to  rich  and  poor  alike,  and  if  gas 
is  only  carefully  used,  cooking  by  gas  will 
be  found  quite  as  economical  in  the  case 
of  small  households  as  it  has  proven  to  be 
in  large  institutions. 

It  remains  to  discuss  a  few  objections 
often  heard  against  the  new  method  of 
cooking  by  gaseous  fuel. 

One  objection  to  gas  cooking  appliances 
often  made  by  householders  is  that,  in  win- 
ter time  the  kitchen  is  not  heated,  because 
in  the  construction  of  the  better  class  of 
gas  ranges  every  precaution  is  taken  to  pre- 
vent undue  loss  of  heat  by  radiation.  This 
objection  is  readily  met  in  steam  heated 
dwellings  and  apartment  houses  by  provid- 
ing a  steam  radiator  in  the  kitchen,  and 
where  steam  is  not  available  for  heating,  a 
small  gas  stove  maybe  put  up  alongside  of 
the  gas  range,  or  sometimes  a  gas  grate  is 


139 

combined  for  this  purpose  with  the  gas 
range. 

To  meet  a  second  objection  sometimes 
raised,  viz.,  that  in  using  gas  ranges  we 
rmist  do  away  with  the  convenient  hot  wa- 
ter boiler,  a  water  heating  attachment  with 
separate  gas  burners  has  been  devised  which 
may  be  connected  with  the  gas  cooking 
range,  or  else  fitted  up  separately.  A  some- 
what different  apparatus,  the  instantaneous- 
water  heater,  with  gas  fire,  may  be  used  in- 
stead in  the  kitchen,  bathroom  or  the  house- 
maid's closet,  and  offers  the  advantage  that 
hot  water  may  be  had  almost  instantly  with- 
out lighting  up  the  kitchen  fire.  To  pro- 
vide for  hot  dinner  plates,  simple  gas  plate 
warmers,  or  hot  ovens,  with  gas  burners 
are  obtainable,  which  may  be  fitted  up 
either  in  the  kitchen  or  in  the  pantry. 

A  third  objection,  often  heard  and  made 
by  persons  inexperienced  and  not  accus- 
tomed to  cooking  by  gas,  is  that  viands  so- 
cooked  acquire  a  certain  objectionable  taste- 
of  gas.  This  statement,  is  not,  however,, 
founded  on  facts.  On  the  contrary,  scien- 
tific cooking  experiments  have  demonstrat- 


140 

ed  that  the  quality  of  cooking  is  rather 
improved,  and  that  there  is  less  loss  in 
weight  of  the  prepared  food. 

Enough  has,  I  believe,  been  said  to  show 
that  the  advantages  and  conveniences  of  a 
gas  cooking  range  are  so  many  as  to  ren- 
der it  obviously  desirable  that  every  house- 
hold should  be  provided  with  this  modern 
appliance,  and  no  kitchen  can  be  consid- 
ered fully  equipped  without  at  least  one  of 
the  smaller  portable  gas  cooking  stoves. 
Those  who  have  had  experience  in  this  ex- 
tremely useful  application  of  gas  will  be 
able  to  confirm  these  statements,  and  the 
comforts  and  convenience  of  cooking  by 
gas  will  be  thoroughly  appreciated  by 
them. 

HEATING  BY  GAS. 

The  method  of  warming  apartments  by 
the  combustion  of  coal  gas  as  fuel  is  of 
comparatively  recent  origin.  Gas  as  fuel 
has  not  been  utilized  to  any  large  extent, 
its  application  having  been  generally  con- 
fined to  the  heating  of  single  rooms.  Very 
few  attempts  have  been  made  to  heat  entire 


141 

buildings'  with  gas.  One  reason  for  this  is 
that,  unlike  cooking  by  gas,  a  gas  fire  is 
not  as  cheap  as  a  coal  fire  when  kept  con- 
stantly going.  In  other  respects,  heating 
with  gaseous  fuel  is  just  as  effective  and 
quick  as  cooking  with  gas,  and  for  heating 
smaller  apartments,  or  rooms  where  heat 
is  only  occasionally  wanted,  and  then  only 
for  brief  periods  of  time,  it  is  well  adapted 
and  offers  many  advantages.  For  instance, 
to  heat  bed-rooms,  bath-rooms  or  dressing- 
rooms  and  nurseries,  a  gas  fire  is  preferable 
to  other  modes  of  warming  and  fully  as 
economical  in  use. 

Heating  with  coal  gas  is  effected  by 
means  of  fire  place  gaslogs  made  of  metal 
or  terracotta  and  asbestos;  by  asbestos  in- 
candescent grate  fires;  by  gas-stoves  with 
brightly  polished  corrugated  copper  re- 
flectors and  by  gas  radiators.  Quite 
recently  a  warm-air  furnace  has  been  de- 
vised with  coal  gas  or  natural  gas  as  a 
source  of  heat  instead  of  the  usual  coal  fire 
pot. 

Heating  by  gas  is,  without  doubt,  des- 
tined to  come  into  more  general  use  as 


142 

the  advantages  of  the  method  are  becom- 
ing recognized. 

It  may  be  used,  on  very  cold  winter  days, 
as  a  supplementary  source  of  heat  in  houses 
heated  by  stoves  or  by  furnaces.  Again 
the  gas  fire  may  be  utilized  as  a  substitute 
for  the  regular  heating  apparatus  in  a  house 
in  the  spring  or  in  the  autumn,  when  the  fire 
in  the  furnace  or  steam  boiler  has  not  yet 
been  started. 

A  gas  fire  is  frequently  of  use  as  an  aux- 
iliary heater  to  counteract  the  chilling  ef- 
fects of  very  large  window  surfaces.  It  is 
largely  employed  as  the  only  means  of 
heating  smaller  bedrooms,  guest  rooms, 
bathrooms,  rooms  in  hotels,  or  other  rooms 
not  constantly  occupied.  Gas  fires  and  gas 
stoves  are  now  much  used,  particularly  in 
Germany,  for  the  heating  of  church  build- 
ings, and  of  guests  rooms  in  hotels  which 
do  not  require  a  continuous  heat. 

Very  often  portable  gas  stoves  are  put 
up  to  heat  rooms  in  which  a  stove  cannot 
be  set  because  no  chimney  flue  is  available. 
But  this  practice  cannot  be  recommended 
on  sanitary  grounds,  because  under  all  cir- 


143 

cumstances  the  removal  of  the  unhealthful 
products  of  combustion  must  be  attended 
to.  It  is  equally  obvious  that  where  there 
is  a  smoky  chimney  flue,  or  a  flue  with 
constant  down  draught,  or  a  flue  in  any 
way  defective,  gas  stoves  or  gas  fires 
cannot  be  successfully  used. 

In  briefly  enumerating  the  advantages  of 
heating  by  gas,  a  repetition  of  much  that 
has  been  said  in  reference  to  cooking  by- 
gas  cannot  well  be  avoided. 

First,  all  types  of  gas  heaters  have  the 
advantage  of  not  requiring  a  large  annual 
outlay  in  advance  for  the  purchase  of  coal 
and  wood,  and  of  not  requiring  the  space 
for  the  storage  of  such  fuel  in  the  cellar. 
The  user  of  gas  for  warming  purposes  finds 
the  fuel  conveyed  or  u  laid  on "  to  his 
house,  ready  for  immediate  use  by  the 
lighting  of  a  match  or  torch  or  wax  taper, 
and  the  gaseous  fuel  is  sold  to  him  on  a 
thirty  days'  credit,  the  gas  bills  being  usu- 
ally rendered  at  the  end  of  each  month. 

All  gas  stoves  or  heaters  save  much  work 
to  the  servants  of  the  household,  and  there- 
by simplify  to  some  extent  the  servant  girl 


144 

question.  He*'e,  as  with  the  gas  cooking 
range,  there  is  no  filling  of  coal  scuttles,1  no 
carrying  of  coal  or  wood  up  stairs,  and  no 
carrying  away  of  coal  or  wood  ashes.  Gas 
iires  require  no  servants  or  attendants,  no 
troublesome  lighting  of  the  fire,  no  delay 
or  waste  of  time  until  the  fire  burns  briskly? 
no  watching  of  the  fire,  no  poking  or  shak- 
ing of  the  grate,  no  putting  on  of  new  fuel. 
There  is  no  smoke,  no  soot  and  no  dust,  no 
fenders  or  pokers  to  be  polished,  no  chim- 
ney flues  to  be  swept. 

The  lighting  of  the  fire  is  conveniently 
and  quickly  done,  a  glowing  fire  is  obtained 
almost  instantly,  the  heat  is  easily  con- 
trolled, and  can  be  increased  or  diminished 
to  suit  the  conditions  of  the  weather  by  the 
mere  turning  of  a  gas  shut  off  valve.  The 
consumption  of  fuel  is  under  full  control, 
and  useless  waste  may  be  checked  by  fre- 
quently reading  the  gas  meter. 

The  fire  can  be  instantly  put  out  when 
not  wanted,  and  all  waste  of  fuel,  as  in  the 
case  of  coal  fires,  is  thus  avoided. 

All  gas  fires  are  clean  and  smokeless.  If 
provided  with  outlet  flue  and  connection  to 


145 

a  chimney  they  are  without  odor,  and  there 
is  considerably  less  danger  from  fire  than 
with  other  heating  apparatus. 

If  gaseous  fuel  would  be  universally  a- 
dopted  for  heating  instead  of  the  solid 
fuel,  the  smoke  nuisance  in  large  cities 
could  be  almost  abolished. 

It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  gas  as  a 
source  of  heat  is  destined  to  come  into 
much  more  general  use,  and  it  is  safe  to 
assert  that,  if  gas  stoves  or  gas  grate  fires 
are  applied  with  discrimination  and  used 
with  a  reasonable  degree  of  intelligence  and 
care,  they  will  in  practice  be  found  to  be 
economical,  and  the  many  other  advantages 
enumerated  may  often  be  taken  as  counter- 
balancing the  slight  increase  in  the  cost  of 
the  gaseous  fuel  over  the  price  of  coal  or 
wood. 

In  a  recent  publication  on  "  Gas  as  Fuel 
in  the  Household  "  an  experienced  gas  engi- 
neer has  given  the  following  comparisons 
between  the  new  method  of  cooking  and 
heating  by  gaseous  fuel  (coal  gas  or  natu- 
ral gas)  and  the  old  method  in  which  other 


146 

fuel  materials  (such  as  coal,  wood,  oil,  gas- 
olene are  employed). 

Although  some  of  his  remarks  and  criti- 
cisms do  not  apply  to  American  conditions 
of  household  management,  his  summary  as 
a  whole  is  interesting  and  instructive. 

Procuring  the  fuel. — The  inspection, 
selection  and  purchase  of  the  fuel  for  the 
household  at  places  of  sale,  which  are  often 
located  at  an  inconvenient  distance,  and 
can  only  be  visited  during  business  hours, 
is  done  away  with  entirely,  because  the 
gaseous  fuel  is  ever  ready  in  the  gas  service 
pipes  for  immediate  use  at  all  hours  of  the 
day  as  well  as  during  the  night. 

The  troublesome  and  annoying  negotia- 
tions regarding  the  price  of  coal  or  wood, 
which  fluctuates  according  to  market  rates, 
according  to  season,  and  according  to  quan- 
tity and  quality  of  the  material  to  be  bought, 
drops  out,  because  price  and  quality  of  gas 
is  regulated  and  fixed  generally  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  in  advance,  sometimes  by 
contract  agreement  and  of  tener  by  act  of 
legislature. 

All  contract  agreements  as  to  the  man- 


147 

ner  of  delivering  and  breaking  up  the  fuel 
material,  taking  same  into  the  cellar  bins, 
etc.,  are  rendered  unnecessary  because  gas, 
as  delivered  by  gas  companies,  is  always 
ready  for  immediate  use  in  the  gas  cooking 
•and  heating  appliances. 

The  control  and  inspection  of  the  coal  or 
wood  fuel,  while  it  is  being  broken  up  or 
cut  to  the  size  required,  or  while  it  is 
weighed,  delivered  and  carried  into  the  cel- 
lar and  stored  in  the  various  bins  is  done 
away,  because  the  consumers  of  gaseous 
fuel  are  simply  charged  the  quantity  of 
gas  actually  consumed  as  recorded  by  the 
monthly  readings  of  the  index  of  the  gas 
meter. 

All  insurance  against  fire,  by  spontane- 
ous combustion  or  otherwise,  of  the  fuel 
stored  in  the  cellar,  is  done  away  with  be- 
cause gaseous  fuel  cannot  become  ignited 
in  the  pipes. 

Securing  the  fuel  from  being  stolen  (as 
in  cellars  of  apartment  houses)  is  rendered 
unnecessary  because  gas  cannot  be  readily 
carried  away. 

The  daily  trips  to  the  cellar  to  take  up- 


148 

stairs  the  quantity  of  fuel  needed,  and  car- 
rying same  in  coal  scuttles  to  the  kitchen 
range,  the  laundry  range,  the  stoves  and 
fireplaces,  are  rendered  entirely  unneces- 
sary, because  the  gaseous  fuel  is  carried  in 
tight  service  pipes  of  ample  size  to  all  the 
places  where  it  is  burnt,  and  because  gas 
is  ready  and  forever  available  in  any  de- 
sired volume,  as  soon  as  the  gas  service 
pipe  is  connected  with  the  street  main. 

All  risks  to  workmen  while  loading  the 
coal  or  wood  trucks,  all  interruption  of 
public  traffic  in  carting  the  materials 
through  streets  with  steep  grades,  or  at 
street  intersections,  all  perils  to  pedestrians 
from  open  coal  shutes  in  the  sidewalk, 
all  danger  from  open  cellar  gratings,  and 
all  danger  of  fire  in  dwelling  houses  from 
thb  storage  of  coal,  oil  or  gasoline  is  done 
away  with,  because  the  gasworks  where  an 
inexhaustible  supply  of  gaseous  fuel  is  pro- 
duced are  brought  into  direct  communica- 
tion with  the  houses  of  the  consumers 
through  the  network  of  underground  tight 
gas  mains,  and  because  the  only  operation 
necessary  to  make  gaseous  fuel  available, 


149 

consists  in  merely  turning  a  small  tap  pro- 
vided at  the  gas-cooking  range,  at  the  gas 
logs  and  fireplace  heaters  and  at  gas  stoves 
of  all  descriptions. 

The  unavoidable  loss  of  coal  or  wood 
during  loading,  carting,  unloading  and 
storing,  and  the  waste  of  fuel  as  occuring 
in  coal  ranges,  with  clinkers  and  ashes,  is 
avoided  where  gaseous  fuel  is  used,  because 
even  the  smallest  quantity  of  gas  can  be 
immediately  lighted  and  is  always  entirely 
consumed. 

The  loss  of  one  or  several  months'  inter- 
est on  the  sum  invested  in  the  purchase  of 
the  supply  of  fuel  is  avoided,  because  gas 
bills  are  rendered  monthly  and  the  gas  con- 
sumed is  not  to  be  paid  for  in  advance. 

The  extra  fees  for  laborers  hired  for 
breaking  up  the  fuel  to  the  size  required, 
or  for  cutting  and  sawing  wood,  or  for  put- 
ting the  fuel  into  the  cellar  bins  is  done 
away  with  where  gaseous  fuel  is  used,  bo- 
cause  the  price  to  be  paid  for  gas  consumed 
refers  to  the  finished  product  of  the  gas 
works  as  delivered  through  the  gas  service 
pipes  into  the  dwellings  of  the  consumers. 


150 

All  incidental  expenses,  such  as  rent  of 
cellar  for  storage  of  fuel,  and  premium  for 
insurance  against  fire,  fall  out  because  for 
gaseous  fuel  no  cellar  or  storage  place  and 
no  insurance  are  needed. 

Application  of  the  Fuel. — The  loss 
in  the  kitchen  of  valuable  space  re- 
quired for  the  cooking  ranges,  which  are 
often  large  and  cumbersome,  is  avoided 
where  gas  cooking  ranges  are  used,  be- 
cause even  the  most  complete  gas  ranges 
are  somewhat  smaller,  and  because  the 
smaller  sizes  suitable  for  the  cooking  of  a 
small  household  can  be  placed  almost  any- 
where on  any  kind  of  support. 

With  coal  or  wood  ranges,  the  lighting 
and  getting  ready  of  the  fire  is  troublesome 
arid  consumes  much  time;  the  filling  and 
lighting  of  oil  or  gasoline  ranges  may 
become  dangerous  owing  to  the  easily  ex- 
plosive character  of  the  liquid  fuel,  where- 
as the  gas  in  gas  ranges  can  be  readily  and 
safely  lighted  by  the  application  of  a  match 
to  one  or  more  of  the  burners,  and  the 
lighting  is  rendered  equally  easy  by  the 


151 

pilot  lights  for  the  gas  ovens  and  gas 
broilers. 

While  the  management  and  control  of  a 
coal  fire  in  the  ordinary  kitchen  range  is 
troublesome,  on  account  of  the  necessity  of 
frequent  lifting  of  covers  to  put  fresh  fuel 
into  the  fir.e  pot,  on  account  of  escape  of 
unhealthy  gases,  and  the  incidental  un- 
avoidable loss  of  heat,  the  gas  burners  of  a 
gas  cooking  range  give  their  full  heat  ef- 
fect almost  from  the  instant  when  the  gas 
is  lighted,  and  the  control  of  the  heat  is 
easy  because  the  size  of  the  gas  flame  can 
be  regulated  to  a  nicety  simply  by  the 
turning  of  the  gas  cock  or  gas  valve. 

In  the  coal  range  we  have  a  continual 
setting  away  and  moving  of  the  cooking 
vessels  to  prevent  the  overflowing  of  boil- 
ing liquids  and  the  burning  of  thick  dishes, 
whereas  in  the  gas  cooking  range  the  in- 
tensity of  the  heat  of  each  separate  burner 
flame  can  be  instantly  adjusted  and  regu- 
lated according  to  the  amount  of  heat 
which  the  dishes  may  require. 

On  a  coal  range  the  preparation  of  a 
larger  meal  occasionally  required  for  visit- 


ors  or  for  dinner  parties,  demands  difficult 
and  troublesome  preliminaries,  whereas  in 
a  gas  range  a  larger  number  of  gas  burners 
can  be  lighted  as  occasion  may  require,  each 
burner  being  separate  arid  controlled  by  its 
own  independent  gas  shut  off. 

As  regards  the  finishing  up  of  the  family 
washing,  the  maintenance  of  a  large  fire  in 
the  kitchen  range  or  in  a  separate  laundry 
range  for  ironing  purposes  only,  is  expen- 
sive and  wasteful  of  fuel,  and  where  iron- 
ing is  done  in  a  room  separate  from  the 
kitchen,  and  where  there  is  no  separate 
laundry  stove3  the  exchange  of  sadirons  is 
troublesome  and  involves  loss  of  time, 
whereas  where  gaseous  fuel  is  used  to  heat 
sadirons,  these  are  directly  heated  by  the 
steady  gas  name  conveniently  placed  in  the 
laundry  where  required,  and  can  be  ex- 
changed without  loss  of  time. 

Dishes  often  acquire  a  disagreeable  taste 
from  the  smoke  of  a  coal  or  wood  range. 
Heating  rooms  where  no  chimney  flue  is 
available  to  take  away  the  smoke  from  the 
burning  coal  or  wood  is  difficult  to  accom- 
plish. Curtains  are  rendered  dirty  by  the 


153 

smoke  from  a  grate  fire;  furniture,  drape- 
ries, pictures  and  gilt  picture  frames  are 
quickly  destroyed.  The  breathing  organs 
become  affected  by  the  continuous  cloud 
of  smoke  from  stoves,  fireplaces,  ranges 
and  furnaces  of  your  own  and  neighbor- 
ing houses^ but  all  this  is  obviated  where 
gaseous  fuel  is  used,  because  this  does  not 
produce  smoke  or  soot  during  its  com- 
bustion, particularly  where  non-luminous 
atmospheric  burners  are  used. 

The  quantity  of  solid  fuel,  coal  and  wood 
needed  for  heating  and  cooking,  cannot 
of  ten  be  accurately  determined  beforehand, 
because  unforeseen  circumstances,  such  as 
unusually  mild  or  very  severe  winter  weath- 
er may  arise,  but  where  gaseous  fuel  is 
used  the  required  volume  of  gas  can  be 
readily  computed,  and  it  is  always  con- 
trolled by  the  simple  reading  of  the  ga? 
meter. 

In  houses  or  apartments  fitted  up  with 
coal  ranges  and  with  coal  grate  fires  or 
stoves,  the  services  of  a  servant  girl  are  in- 
dispensable for  cooking,  ironing  and  at- 
tending to  the  fires,  and  all  this  work  is 


154 

performed  slowly  and  requires  much  time, 
and  on  account  of  the  trouble  involved  the 
housewife  cannot  devote  herself  so  well  to 
her  other  duties,  especially  to  the  care  and 
education  of  the  children,  which  should  be 
the  highest  aim  of  every  family,  whereas 
in  using  gas  as  a  fuel  every  one  of  the  op- 
erations named  requires  only  about  one 
half  of  the  time,  whir1!  is  usually  necessary^ 
All  annoyances  are  done  away  with,  owing 
to  the  cleanly,  sure  and  effective  method 
of  regulating  the  fires.  The  preparation 
of  savory  and  nutritious  meals  become  a 
pleasure,  and  not  as  heretofore  a  burden,  in- 
terest in  cooking  is  awakened  or  promoted, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  housewife  is 
enabled  to  devote  her  time  not  only  to  the 
household  but  to  the  family  and  children 
as  well. 


SPECIFICATION  FOR  GAS  PIPING. 

General    Conditions. — The    gas    fitting 
work  must  conform  to  the   general  rules 


155 

and  regulations  of  the  gas  company  sup- 
plying the  district  in  which  the  building 
is  located,  with  gas. 

The  plumber  is  to  notify  the  gas  com- 
pany and  is  to  obtain  a  proper  and  large 
gas  service  pipe,  of  ample  capacity  to  sup- 
ply all  present  and  future  gas  outlets,  run 
by  the  company  into  the  cellar  of  the 
building. 

The  supply  pipe  leading  from  the  street 
main  shall  be  provided  with  a  stop  valve 
placed  in  the  sidewalk'  near  the  curb,  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  gas  may  be  turned  off  at 
this  point  from  the  building. 

The  gas  company  will  furnish  and  set 
the  gas  meter,  which  is  to  be  located  in 
cellar  where  directed.  The  meter  to  be 
placed  where  it  will  be  convenient  for  the 
consumer  to  turn  off  the  gas,  and  for  the 
meter  inspector  to  read  the  index,  or  the 
employees  of  the  gas  company  to  put  me- 
ter in  order  when  repairs  are  required. 

In  no  case  shall  the  gas  meter  be  set 
where  it  will  be  exposed  to  damp  or  frost, 
or  liable  to  injury  from  any  cause. 

The  gas  company  shall  make  the  connec- 


156 

tions  of  the  meter  with  the  street  service 
and  with  the  house  pipe. 

The  plumbing  contractor  shall  pipe  the 
whole  building  for  gas  in  the  most  ap- 
proved manner,  and  all  his  work  must  be 
in  strict  accordance  with  the  following  de- 
tailed specifications.  The  whole  piping  is 
to  be  completed  before  plastering  is  com- 
menced. 

The  contractor  shall  be  responsible  for 
all  his  work  and  material,  and  shall  replace 
without  extra  charge  any  thereof  which 
may  have  become  stolen,  damaged,  broken 
or  otherwise  found  deficient. 

He  is  to  clean  out  all  pipes  which  may 
be  found  stopped  up,  and  he  shall  deliver 
the  entire  gas  piping  work  throughout  in 
good  order,  whole,  clean  and  perfect,  and 
guarantee  the  entire  work  and  all  its  parts, 
and  keep  same  in  repair  for  the  period  of 
one  year  from  the  date  of  the  final  certifi- 
cate. 

Pipes. — Best  quality  wrought  iron  weld- 
ed gas  pipe  of  sizes  to  conform  to  the  scale 
given  below  shall  be  used.  All  pipe  up  to 
1  inch  diameter  to  be  butt  welded,  larger 


157 

pipes  to  be  lap  welded.  All  pipe  to  be 
free  from  splits,  flaws  or  other  defects,  and 
to  be  of  a  true  and  uniform  section.  All 
pipe  must  be  tested  at  the  mills  by  hydro- 
static pressure. 

[State  if  pipe  is  to  be  of  plain  wrought 
iron,  or  galvanized,  or  made  rustless  by  the 
Bower-Barff  process.] 

Fittings. — All  fittings,  such  as  sockets, 
elbows,  bends,  tees,  crosses,  reducers,  etc., 
under  two  inches  diameter  shall  be  extra 
heavy  malleable  iron  fittings;  fittings  of 
larger  diameter  to  be  cast  iron  fittings. 

[State  if  fittings  are  to  be  plain,  or 
galvanized  or  Bower-Barffed.] 

The  use  of  galvanized  malleable  iron 
fittings  is  recommended,  the  coating  of 
zinc  if  properly  applied  effectually  cover- 
ing up  all  blowholes,  and  thereby  avoiding 
the  temptation  of  using  the  perishable  gas- 
fitter's  cement. 

Joints. — All  piping  and  fittings  are  to  be 
put  together  with  screw  joints  and  red  lead, 
or  red  and  white  lead  mixed.  All  joints 
are  to  be  made  perfectly  gastight.  The 
use  of  gas-fitters'  cement  in  the  making  of 


158 

pipe  joints  will  not,  under  any  circum- 
stances, be  permitted.  Care  to  be  taken 
not  to  put  too  much  white  or  red  lead  in 
the  fitting  or  on  the  pipe  which,  when 
pipes  are  screwed  together,  might  obstruct 
the  clear  bore  of  same. 

Valves  and  Stopcocks. — In  smaller  build- 
ings use  brass  lever  handle  stopcocks  to 
shut  off  gas  at  meter.  In  larger  buildings 
use  full  way  brass  finished  stop  valves  on 
all  rising  lines  and  on  each  floor  to  control 
and  shut  off  separately  the  flow  of  gas  to 
the  various  floors  and  to  the  separate 
wings  of  the  building. 

Sizes  of  Pipes. — All  rising  and  distribu- 
ting pipes  and  all  branches  to  bracket  and 
centre-lights,  shall  be  of  ample  and  suffi- 
cient size  to  supply  the  total  number  of 
burners  indicated  on  plans. 

In  determining  the  sizes  of  pipes  do  not 
confound  outlets  and  number  of  lights. 
The  pipe  should  correspond  to  the  greatest 
number  of  lights  or  burners  it  supplies  irre- 
spective of  the  number  of  outlets. 

No  pipe  shall  be  less  than  %  inches  in 
diameter,  and  this  size  shall  be  used  only 


159 


for  not  more  than  one  or  two  brackeo-lights. 
No  pipe  for  chandeliers  shall  be  less  than 
y*  inch  inside  diameter  up  to  four  burners, 
and  it  shall  be  at  least  %  inch  in  diameter 
for  all  chandeliers  with  more  than  four 
burners. 

The  gas-fitter  shall  proportion  the  sizes 
of  risers,  distributing  lines  and  service 
branches  by  the  following  scale  for  gas 
piping,  which  scale  calls  for  piping  slightly 
larger  than  that  ordinarily  put  in. 

TABLE. 


Size  of  Pipe. 

Greatest  Length 
Allowed. 

Greatest  Number  of 
Burners  to  be 
Supplied. 

%  inch 

20  feet 

2 

X    " 

30     < 

4 

X    " 

50     < 

15 

1      « 

70    « 

25 

11A    « 

100     < 

40 

1&     " 

150     « 

70 

2        " 

200     < 

140 

2^     " 

300     < 

225 

3         " 

400     c 

300 

4         " 

500     < 

500 

160 

Main  Pipe  and  Risers. — Run  main  iron 
service  pipe  exposed  at  cellar  ceiling  wher- 
ever best  or  where  directed,  and  put  up  as 
many  gas  risers  as  may  be  necessary  for 
the  proper  distribution  of  gas  piping  in  the 
building.  Risers  shall  not  be  run  along 
outside  or  exposed  walls.  If  this  cannot 
be  avoided  the  pipes  shall  be  protected 
with  some  approved  non-conducting  cov- 
ering. 

Outlets. — Provide  all  outlets  for  gas 
where  shown  on  gas-fitter's  plans.  The 
foreman  gas-fitter  must  verify  the  exact  po- 
sition of  all  outlets  for  brackets,  mirror 
and  center  lights. 

Note. — Here  insert  a  detailed  list  of  out- 
lets to  be  provided  in  each  room,  also  a  list 
of  burners  at  each  outlet,  and  give  key  ex- 
plaining the  different  marks  used  on  plans 
showing  location  of  outlets. 

Location  and  Manner  of  Running  Dis- 
tribution Pipes. — All  main  risers  are  to  be 
carried  exposed,  wherever  practicable,  and 
where  concealed  in  wall  recesses  or  in  stud 
partitions  they  should  preferably  be  ren- 
dered accessible.  All  other  service  and 


161 

distribution  pipes  are  to  be  carried  in  walls 
and  partitions  and  between  floor  beams. 

No  gas  pipes  are  on  any  account  to  be 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  floor  beams  which 
are  to  be  lathed  and  plastered,  where  they 
would  be  inaccessible  in  case  of  leaks  or 
alterations.  All  piping  is,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, to  be  laid  so  as  to  be  got  at  in  case 
of  repairs. 

Where  gas  pipes  under  floors  run  across 
wooden  beams,  the  latter  are  to  be  cut, 
notched  or  bored,  at  no  greater  distance 
than  two  feet  from  their  bearings,  and  on 
no  account  shall  pipes  be  let  into  the  beams 
more  than  two  inches  in  depth.  All  the 
cutting  which  the  gas-fitter  needs  shall  be 
done  for  him  by  the  carpenter. 

Running  lines  shall  not  be  placed  under 
tiled  or  parquet  floors,  under  marble 
platforms  or  under  hearth  stones,  where 
this  can  be  avoided.  Wherever  practicable 
the  running  lines  shall  be  kept  accessible  by 
screwing  down  the  floor  boards  over  the  gas 
pipe  with  brass  screws. 

Drop-lights  must  in  all  cases  be  supplied 


162 

from  special  branches  taken  from  the  run- 
ning lines. 

All  pipes  shall  be  run  as  direct  as  possi- 
ble, and  with  a  true  grade  and  fall  toward 
the  rising  lines  arid  the  gas  meter  (or  the 
gas  generator  where  the  house  is  supplied 
with  an  air  gas  machine),  so  as  to  prevent 
the  accumulation  of  condensed  vapor  or 
water  and  consequent  trapping. 

The  inclination  of  the  pipe  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  use  of  a  spirit  level,  and  all 
sags  in  the  pipe  to  be  done  away  with. 

Where  needed  special  drip- pipes,  closed 
tightly  with  screw  plugs,  must  be  pro- 
vided. Long  runs  of  horizontal  distribu- 
tion pipes  are  to  be  firmly  and  strongly 
supported,  at  short  intervals  so  as'  to  pre- 
vent the  pipe  sagging  in  the  centre  and  be- 
coming trapped  by  water  from  condensa- 
tion. 

Outlets,  Bracket  Pipes  and  Drops. — All 
branch  outlet  pipes  shall  be  taken  from 
the  sides  or  tops  of  running  lines,  never 
directly  from  below.  Bracket  lines  shall 
always  run  up  from  below,  and  must  not 


163 

be  dropped  from  overhead  except  in  the 
cellar  or  lowest  floor  of  a  building.  Drop- 
lights  shall  have  branches  taken  from  the 
side  or  top  of  the  pipe,  never  from  the  bot- 
tom of  a  running  line. 

The  foreman  gas-fitter  must  pay  particu- 
lar attention  to  these  requirements,  and 
must  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  the 
whole  pipe  system  shall  be  free  from  any 
low  places  or  traps,  and  that  every  pipe 
in  the  building  shall  be  so  inclined  that 
all  condensation  will  flow  back  to  the  ris- 
ing pipe  or  pipes  and  thence  to  the  gas 
meter  or  the  gas  generator. 

Before  any  pipe  is  put  into  position,  it 
should  be  blown  and  looked  into  as  a  pre- 
caution against  obstructions. 

Method  of  Fastening  Outlet  Pipes.~A\\ 
outlet  pipes  shall  be  securely  and  rigidly 
fastened  in  position  with  gas-fitter's  hooks, 
galvanized  iron  straps  or  holdfasts  secured 
with  screws,  so  that  there  will  be  no  possi- 
bility of  any  portion  of  the  pipe  settling 
and  forming  traps,  or  of  the  pipes  moving 
when  the  gas  fixtures  are  attached. 

Centre  pipes  shall  rest  on  solid  supports 


164 

or  cleats  fastened  to  the  floor  beams  near 
their  top.  The  pipes  shall  be  securely  fas- 
ened  to  the  support  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
prevent  any  lateral  movement. 

All  drop-pipes  shall  be  perfectly  plumb 
and  shall  pass  through  a  guide  fastened 
near  the  bottom  of  the  floor-beams,  in  order 
to  be  well  stayed  at  both  top  and  bottom 
of  floor  joists. 

Height  of  Bracket  or  Side  lights. — Out- 
lets for  bracket  lights  shall  be  placed  5'  6" 
high  from  finished  floor  in  rooms,  6'  6" 
high  in  halls,  and  6'  0"  in  bathrooms,  un- 
less otherwise  directed.  Mirror  light  out- 
lets shall  be  8'  0"  above  finished  floor,  ex- 
cept where  such  lights  are  to  be  droplights. 

Length  of  Nipples  and  of  Drops. — All 
upright  branches  shall  be  plumb  and  the 
nipples  projecting  from  walls  or  partitions 
shall  be  perfectly  level  or  perpendicular  to 
the  wall  from  which  they  project.  All 
nipples  shall  be  of  the  exact  length  for 
putting  on  fixtures,  and  shall  project  not 
.more  than  %-inch  from  the  face  of  the 
plastering. 

Outlets  which  come  in  connection  with 


165 

any  cabinet  work  are  to  be  made  tempo- 
raiy,  and  must  be  brought  to  their  exact 
position  at  such  time  as  the  cabinet  work 
is  put  up. 

Drop  centre  pipes  shall  project  IK  inches 
below  the  furrings  where  no  stucco  or  cen- 
tre pieces  are  used.  Where  the  latter  are 
used  the  drop  shall  be  left  about  one  foot 
below  the  furring.  All  drops  must  be  ex- 
actly perpendicular. 

Pressure  Test  and  Inspection. — When 
piping  is  completed,  and  before  plastering 
is  commenced,  all  gas  outlets  shall  be  tight- 
ly capped  and  the  whole  system  of  gas  pip- 
ing shall  be  tested  by  a  low  pressure  spring 
gauge  or  better,  a  mercury  gauge  and 
forcepump,  and  proved  to  be  air  and  gas 
tight  under  a  pressure  of  air  that  will  raise 
the  column  of  mercury  eighteen  inches  in 
the  glass  tube,  equal  to  about  9  Ibs.  pres- 
sure per  square  inch.  The  system  of  pip- 
ing shall  remain  under  test  at  least  one 
hour,  and  any  leaks  indicated  by  the  fall- 
ing of  the  mercury  in  the  glass  gauge 
must  be  at  once  repaired  and  made  good, 
and  the  test  repeated  until  all  leaks  have 


166 

been  repaired  and  the  whole  made  abso- 
lutely and  perfectly  gas  tight. 

No  split  pipe  or  broken  or  defective 
fitting  repaired  with  gas-fitter's  cement  or 
with  solder  will  be  permitted. 

In  the  stopping  of  leaks  at  joints,  or  of 
sand  holes  in  fittings,  the  use  of  gas- 
fitter's  cement  will  not  be  permitted,  for 
when  cold  it  is  liable  to  crack  off,  and 
when  near  hot  air  flues  or  steam  pipes  it  is 
liable  to  melt. 

When  the  pressure  test  has  proved  the 
system  to  be  tight,  the  caps  should  be 
removed  from  the  gas  outlets  in  different 
parts  of  the  building,  to  observe  if  the 
whole  of  the  system  has  been  under  pres- 
sure. This  test  wil]  at  the  same  time  re- 
veal if  all  pipes  and  branches  are  clean 
and  free  from  obstruction. 

After  the  test,  all  outlets  are  to  be  left 
capped  and  tight  at  the  completion  of  the 
work. 

When  running  extra  outlets  or  making 
changes  in  new  buildings  after  the  original 
work  is  completed  and  tested,  the  gas- 
fitter  shall  again  put  on  the  gauge  and 


167 

test  the  altered  work  in  the  same  manner 
as  above  described. 

Gas  Fixtures. — It  is  understood  that  the 
gas  fixtures  are  not  to  be  furnished  by  the 
party  contracting  for  the  gas  piping. 

Test  of  Piping  to  be  Repeated  before  the 
Fixtures  are  hung. — Before  the  gas  fixtures 
are  hung  or  put  up,  the  gas-fitter  shall  re- 
peat  the  air  pressure  test  in  the  presence  of 
the  owner  or  the  contractor  for  the  gas  fix* 
tures,  and  shall  demonstrate  to  their  satis- 
faction that  the  whole  gas  piping  is  abso- 
lutely  tight. 

The  gas-fitter  shall  do  this  for  his  own 
protection  so  that  when  the  gas  is  turned 
on  at  the  fixtures  and  any  escape  of  gas  is 
subsequently  noticed,  it  is  obvious  that  the 
leak  is  at  the  fixture  joint  for  which  the 
gas  fixture  man  and  not  the  gas-fitter  shall 
be  solely  held  responsible, 

Gaslogs  and  Gas  Fire  Place  Heaters. — 
Where  fire  places  are  to  be  fitted  with  gas- 
logs  or  gas  grates  separate  rising  lines  not 
less  than  three-quarter  inches  in  size  are  to 
be  run  for  same  from  the  cellar  upward. 

For   each    gaslog    provide   a    half-inch 


168 

branch  gas  supply  with  plated  wheel- 
handle  valve  placed  in  floor  where 
directed. 

Gas  Cooking  Range. — Where  gas  cook- 
ing ranges  are  to  be  fitted  up  provide  a 
a  separate  service  pipe  of  sufficient  size  (at 
least  three-quarters  of  an  inch  for  small  gas 
cooking  stoves  and  from  one  to  one  and 
one-half  inches  in  diameter  for  the  large 
gas  cooking  ranges).  Provide  in  kitchen  a 
gas  outlet  for  gas  range,  about  two  feet 
from  floor,  properly  capped. 

Gas  Heating  Stoves,  Gas  Plate  Warmers, 
Instantaneous  Water  Heaters^  etc. — Where 
rooms  are  to  be  heated  by  eras  stoves,  or 
where  gas  plate  warmers  or  gas  water 
heaters  are  to  be  set  up,  provide  separate 
service  pipes  of  ample  size,  and  provide 
outlets  where  wanted,  and  leave  same 
properly  capped. 

Gas  Main  for  Cooldng  or  Heating. — 
The  rising  lines  for  gaslogs,  gas  stoves,  gas 
ranges  or  gas  plate  warmers  may  be  con- 
nected together  in  the  cellar  into  a  large 
main,  of  sufficient  size,  determined  by  the 
hourly  consumption  of  the  gas  appliances 


169 


to  be  fitted  up.  This  main  must  begin  at 
the  gas  meter  and  shall  be  arranged  with 
separate  shut  off  or  gate  valve. 


MUNICIPAL  RULES  AND  REGULA- 
TIONS "REGARDING  GAS  PIPING 
AND  GAS  FITTING  IN  THE  CITY 
OF  MUNICH,  GERMANY. 

Obligations  of  Gas-fitters. — All  persons 
carrying  on  the  trade  of  gasfitting  must  be 
licensed,  and  must  give  a  bond  to  the 
city  for  the  faithful  performance  of  all 
their  work,  in  accordance  with  the  rules 
and  regulations  given  below.  No  person 
will  be  permitted  to  do  gas  piping  or  fitting 
without  having  obtained  such  a  license. 

Rights  of  Gas-fitters. —  Gas-fitters  may 
undertake  the  furnishing  and  constructing 
of  all  new  gas  piping,  including  gas-fixtures, 
and  also  the  alteration  or  extension  of  ex- 
isting gas  pipe  and  gas-fixture  systems, 
whether  for  lighting,  cooking,  heating  or 
other  purposes. 


170 

The  furnishing  and  laying  of  the  gas 
service  pipes  from  the  street  mains  to  the 
gas  meters,  the  furnishing  and  putting  in 
of  main  shut  off  cocks  or  valves  on  the  ser- 
vices, the  fitting  up  of  main  as  well  as  in- 
termediate gas  meters,  and  the  connection 
between  the  gas  meters  and  the  service  and 
house  pipes  by  licensed  gas-fitters  will  not 
be  permitted.  This  work  shall  be  done  by 
the  gas  company.  Gas-fitters  and  house 
owners  are  also  prohibited  from  disconnect- 
ing gas  meters  and  service  pipes,  which 
work  shall  only  be  performed  by  the  gas 
company. 

Rights  of  the  Gas  Company. — The  lay- 
ing of  gas  services,  by  which  term  are  des- 
ignated those  pipes  which  convey  the  un- 
measured gas  from  the  street  mains  to  the 
main  gas  meter,  and  the  putting  in  of  all 
main  shutoffs  on  the  services  can  only  be 
done  by  the  gas  company,  who  also  fur- 
nishes  the  necessary  materials  and  fittings 
for  this  work. 

The  owner  of  a  building  must  notify  the 
gas  company  in  writing  whenever  he  wishes 
such  work  done. 


171 

The  ownei  may  obtain  the  main  gas 
meter  and  all  needed  intermediate  meters, 
either  from  the  gas  company  or  from  gas- 
fitters,  but  in  the  latter  instance  the  gas 
company  shall  have  a  right  to  have  such 
gas  meters  as  are  furnished  by  gas  fitters, 
tested  by.the  official  meter  inspector  and 
examined  as  to  their  construction  and  dur- 
ability. The  gas  company  shall  have  the 
right  to  condemn  all  gas  meters  which  the 
written  report  of  the  inspector  declares 
to  be  for  any  reason  unfit  or  unsatisfac- 
torys 

Owners  must  pay  the  gas  company  for 
all  work  performed  and  material  furnished 
in  the  laying  of  service  pipes  and  fitting 
up  of  gas  meters. 

Gas  Meters. — Only  such  gas  meters, 
which  have  been  examined  and  tested  by 
the  official  meter  inspector  and  provided 
with  his  official  seal,  are  permitted  to  be 
used. 

The  size  or  capacity  of  the  gas  meters 
depends  upon  the  number  of  lights  which 
they  are  to  supply,  or  upon  the  consump- 
tion of  gas,  corresponding  to  the  number  of 


172 


lights,  including  all  outlets  for  gas  cooking 
and  heating  appliances. 

The  largest  number  of  lights  which  can 
be  supplied  from  a  gas  meter  of  a  certain 
capacity  is  given  in  the  following  table: 

TABLE  I. 


Size  of  Meter. 

Number  of 
Lights  Supplied 

With  a  Total  Consump- 
tion per  hour  of. 

3  lights. 

4  lights. 

21,2  cubic  feet. 

5 

6 

31,8     < 

u 

10 

12 

63,6     « 

It 

20 

24 

127,2     < 

« 

30 

36 

190,8     « 

u 

40 

48 

254,4     < 

(I 

60 

72 

381,6     < 

« 

80      « 

96 

508,8     < 

u 

100      « 

120      « 

636,0     < 

(I 

150      " 

180      " 

954,0     < 

a 

200      " 

240      " 

1272,0     " 

Where  still  larger  sizes  of  gas  meters  are 
required,  the  municipal  department  deter- 
mines the  size  of  the  gas  meter,  basing  the 
calculation  upon  a  minimum  consumption 
of  five  cubic  feet  per  hour  for  each  light. 


173 

Wherever  new  buildings  are  piped  for 
gas,  and  it  is  contemplated  to  use  tempora- 
rily only  a  part  of  the  lights  or  of  the  pipe 
system,  the  owner  may  apply  for  a  tempo- 
rary gas  meter  of  smaller  capacity  sufficient 
to  supply  the  number  of  temporary  lights, 
but  in  alLsuch  cases  the  gas  piping  or  gas 
service  shall  conform  in  size  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  whole  building. 

All  gas  meters  must  be  protected  by  the 
owner  from  damage  of  any  kind  and  must 
be  kept  in  a  good  condition. 

All  main  gas  meters  and  shutoffs  shall 
be  placed  and  fitted  up  in  an  easily  acces- 
sible, well  lighted  position  near  the  front 
wall  of  the  house  and  at  the  point  of  en- 
trance of  the  main  gas  service. 

All  intermediate  gas  meters  shall  be  so 
placed  as  to  be  easily  accessible,  and  where 
they  cannot  be  set  directly  upon  the  floor, 
the  bottom  of  the  meter  shall  not  be 
elevated  more  than  eight  feet  from  the 
floor, 

Wherever  this  appears  impracticable,  or 
where  the  gas  company  and  the  gas-fitter 
or  the  owner  cannot  agree  as  to  the  best 


174 

position  for  the  meter,  the  same  shall  be 
decided  by  the  municipal  department. 

Gas  meters  shall  not  be  placed  in  rooms 
which  cannot  be  entered  with  an  open  light, 
or  where  explosive  substances  are  stored  or 
manufactured. 

Gas  Piping  in  Buildings. — All  gas  pipes 
inside  of  buildings  shall  be  wrought  iron 
pipes  and  must  be  put  together  in  an  abso- 
lutely tight  manner. 

Lead  pipes  can  only  be  used  when 
approved  in  writing  by  the  municipality. 
Rubber  tubing  will  only  be  permitted  for 
single  portable  lights  or  for  connections 
with  portable  gas  cooking  or  heating 
appliances.  The  metal  pipes  to  which 
the  rubber  flexible  tubing  is  connected 
must  be  provided  with  a  tight  shutoff  cock. 

The  inside  diameters  of  the  gas  service 
pipe,  of  the  inlet  and  outlet  supply  pipes 
at  gas  meters,  of  the  inlet  and  outlet 
couplings  of  gas  meters,  and  of  the  gas 
distributing  pipes  in  all  buildings  shall 
be  determined  according  to  the  number  of 
lights  to  be  supplied,  by  the  following 
table  of  pipe  sizes: 


175 
TABLE  II. 


Length  of  Gas-  I] 
pipe  in  Meters 
(approx.  yards). 

%inch 
=9,  5mm. 

J^inch 
=  12  5mm. 

g 

1 

5 

£ 
»o 

H 

£ 

o  oo 

.2  H 

l^inch 
—  38mm. 

is 

f£3  0 
ft. 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

15 
30 
25 
30 
35 

3 
3 

2 
2 
1 

1 

10 
8 
6 
5 
4 
3 
2 
1 
1 

18 
16 
13 
10 
8 
5 
5 
4 
4 
3 

30 
25 

20 
15 
13 

9 
8 
7 
6 
5 

60 
50 
40 
32 
25 
20 
17 
15 
12 
11 

120 
100 

80 
64 
50 
40 
35 
30 
25 
99, 

180 
150 
120 
100 
80 
60 
55 
50 
45 
40 

400 
320 
260 
220 
180 
155 
132 
120' 
112 
103 

40 

4 

10 

35 

9ri 

45 

2 

9 

1°) 

30 

88 

50 

1 

3 

8 

17 

28 

80 

60 

1 

3 

7 

16 

26 

70 

70 

2 

6 

15 

24 

65 

80 

2 

5 

14 

22 

60 

90 

1 

4 

13 

20 

55 

100 

1 

3 

12 

18 

50 

150 

9, 

9 

15 

43 

200 

1 

8 

13 

36 

'250 

•/ 

12 

30 

300 

11 

176 

In  still  larger  buildings  the  dimensions 
of  gas  pipes  will  be  determined  by  the 
municipal  department. 

No  pipe  shall  under  any  circumstances 
be  smaller  than  %  inch  =  9.5mm-  inside 
diameter. 

In  the  case  of  larger  buildings  con- 
taining rooms  devoted  to  different  pur- 
poses, such  as  school-rooms,  work-rooms, 
halls  for  amusement  and  living  rooms, 
there  shall  be  several  sub-divisions  with 
separate  gas  meters  and  separate  shut  offs. 
Before  commencing  the  gas  piping  in 
such  buildings  the  gas-fitter  or  architect 
shall  notify  the  municipal  department, 
and  if  required  must  file  detailed  plans  of 
the  proposed  gas  piping  for  approval. 

Pipe  Joints. — All  pipes  and  fittings 
shall  be  connected  by  screw  joints.  In 
special  cases,  other  joints  will  be  permitted 
only  upon  the  approval  of  the  municipal 
department. 

All  pipe  threads  shall  be  covered  with 
thin  layers  of  hemp  dipped  in  or  saturated 
with  white  lead  or  red  lead,  or  a  mixture 
of  both. 


177 

All  joints  which  are  not  tight,  shall  be 
at  once  repaired,  or  removed  and  replaced 
by  tight  joints. 

The  covering  of  leaky  joints  with  putty, 
gas-fitter's  cement  or  similar  material  is 
unreliable  and  will  not  be  permitted. 

Covering  joints  with  paint  before  the 
gas  piping  has  been  tested,  is  forbidden. 

All  fittings  must  be  either  of  wrought 
iron  or  of  malleable  iron. 

Grade  and  Position  of  Pipes. — All  gas 
distributing  pipes  must  be  laid  with  a 
uniform  fall  towards  the  gas  meter,  must 
be  kept  easily  accessible,  and  where  carried 
exposed  must  be  protected  against  acci- 
dental injury. 

At  all  places,  where  the  continuous  grad- 
ing of  the  pipes  must  be  interrupted,  or 
where  pipes  pass  from  a  warm  room  into  a 
cold  place,  siphons  must  be  provided  in 
order  to  remove  all  water  from  condensa- 
tion accumulating  at  these  points. 

Gas  pipes  must  never  be  carried  under 
fire  places  or  under  kitchen  ranges,  nor 
through  chimney  flues  or  other  inaccess- 
ible places. 


178 

Where  pipes  have  been  covered  over, 
they  can  only  be  tested  and  put  to  use  if 
the  inspector  has  previously  inspected  the 
same  and  has  approved  of  their  being 
covered  up. 

Wherever  gas  pipes  are  carried  through 
exposed  or  open  ground  they  should  have 
at  least  three  feet  of  covering. 

Fastening  and  Support  of  Pipes  and 
Gas  Fixtures. — Dropells  fastened  to  the 
ceiling  beams  and  Tees  or  ells  with  lugs 
screwed  to  the  wall  furring  or  studding 
shall  in  all  cases  be  used  for  attaching  the 
oeiling  and  wall  fixtures. 

It  is  not  permitted  to  hang  chandeliers 
to  curved  pipes.  The  fastening  of  chande- 
liers must  be  sufficiently  strong  to  carry 
four  times  the  weight  of  the  fixture  with- 
out loosening  any  joint.  All  chandeliers 
weighing  more  than  22  Ibs.  shall  be  hung 
with  ball  and  socket  joints. 

Only  such  gas  keys  shall  be  used  at 
fixtures  which  shut  off  the  gas  by  a 
quarter  turn,  which  are  provided  with 
strong  stop  pins  and  cannot  be  pulled  out. 

All    gas  keys    and    movable  or    swing 


179 

joints  must  be  ground  so  as  to  be  perfectly 
gas  tight.  All  fixtures  shall  be  connected 
with  the  gas  pipes  by  perfectly  tight 
joints.  All  joints  of  extension  pendant 
fixtures  must  be  absolutely  gas  tight. 

So-called  Cork  Joint  Pendants  are  pro- 
hibited ? 

The  hydraulic  seal  of  sliding  chandeliers 
must  be  filled  instead  of  with  water  with 
glycerine  or  with  some  oil  which  does  not 
evaporate,  does  not  thicken  and  set  hard> 
and  does  not  freeze. 

Protection  of  Gas  Flames. — In  all 
rooms,  where  the  use  of  an  open  light  is 
prohibited,  open  or  unprotected  gas  flames 
shall  not  be  used,  and  in  all  places  where 
explosives  are  either  manufactured  or 
stored,  gas-lights  shall  not  be  used  at  all. 

Wherever  a  gas  flame  is  nearer  than 
(io  cm.  =  2±  inches  to  the  ceiling  or  to 
any  inflammable  material,  the  gas  flame 
shall  be  protected  by  a  suspended  metal 
shield  placed  at  least  2/4  inches  from  the 
material  to  be  protected. 

Wherever  swinging  gas  brackets  would 
come  in  contact  with  inflammable  material 


180 

the  gas  flames  must  be  surrounded  with 
wire  globes  or  cages,  or  else  the  bracket 
lights  must  be  made  rigidc 

All  gas-fixtures  must  be  so  fastened  or 
hung  as  not  to  be  liable  to  injury  by  ordi- 
nary use,  or  so  as  to  come  into  contact 
with  inflammable  objects. 

The  fitting  up  of  sunburners  requires  the 
special  approval  of  the  municipal  depart- 
ment. 

Notices  to  the  Department. — Every  gas- 
fitter  shall  report  in  writing  at  the  muni- 
cipal department,  when  a  gas  piping  job 
which  he  is  doing  in  new  buildings  as  well 
as  in  extensions,  additions  or  alterations  of 
existing  buildings,  is  completed.  He  will 
then  be  informed  as  to  the  method  and 
time  for  the  test  of  the  completed  work. 
The  necessary  blanks  for  such  notices 
may  be  obtain  3d  at  the  municipal  depart- 
ment. 

In  the  case  of  older  buildings  the  gas 
-piping  must  be  gotten  ready  for  the  test 
before  such  notice  is  sent.  Covering  up 
any  gas  pipes,  or  connecting  up  the  gas 
meter  before  sending  such  notice  is  pro- 


181 

hibited.  All  gas  outlets  and  the  end  of 
the  main  distributing  line  or  riser  are  to 
be  capped  perfectly  air  tight,  and  the  gas- 
fitter  must  provide  the  gas  testing  appar- 
atus', force  pump,  rubber  tubing,  connect- 
ing nipples  and  the  pressure  gauge. 

The  same  requirements  as  to  testing  shall 
be  observed  in  the  case  of  additions  or  al- 
terations of  existing  buildings,  provided 
more  than  30  feet  of  gas  piping  and  more 
than  two  gas  outlets  are  put  in. 

Small  jobs  of  gas  piping,  requiring  not 
more  than  30  feet  of  pipe,  or  not  more 
than  two  gas  outlets,  or  both,  may  be  con- 
nected to  the  existing  gas  piping  without 
official  testing,  but  a  notice  of  such  work 
must  be  sent  in  every  case  to  the  municipal 
department.  This  notice  shall  contain  : 

1.  The  full  name   and  business  of  the 
owner. 

2.  The  name  and  number  of  the  street 
in  which  the  building  is  located. 

3.  The  number  of  gas  lights  or  the  ex- 
pected consumption  of  gas  for  which  the 
piping  to  be  tested  is  to  serve. 

Such  notice  blanks  must  be  filled  in  and 


182 

signed  by  the  gas-fitter  who  has  the  order 
or  the  contract  for  the  work. 

The  municipal  department  fixes  the  date 
of  the  test  which  must  take  place  within 
24  hours  after  receipt  of  the  notice. 

At  the  date  set  for  testing  the  gas-fitter 
must  personally  be  present  at  the  building 
the  gas  piping  of  which  is  to  be  tested,  and 
he  must  give  to  the  inspector  such  infor- 
mation about  the  work  as  the  latter  may 
require.  He  shall  give  all  necessary  assist- 
ance in  the  test,  and  must  remain  present 
during  the  whole  test. 

Test  of  the  Gas  Piping. — Before  apply- 
ing the  pressure  test,  the  whole  gas  piping 
job  shall  be  thoroughly  inspected  as  re- 
gards the  position  and  run  of  the  gas  pipes, 
as  regards  pipe  sizes  and  pipe  joints,  as  re- 
gards quality  of  the  pipe  and  fittings,  and 
as  regards  the  proposed  location  of  the  gas 
meter. 

If  no  defects  are  found  the  inspector 
shall  proceed  to  test  the  gas  pipes.  The 
test  is  usually  carried  out  with  a  water 
pressure  gauge  or  manometer, 

For  the  purpose  of  testing  the  pipes  and 


183 

the  pipe  joints  the  whole  gas  piping  system 
shall  be  put  under  air  pressure  correspond- 
ing to  a  column  of  water  10  inches  high 
equivalent  to  about  %  inches  of  mercury).* 

Should  the  column  of  water  in  the  gauge 
keep  its  level  or  drop  not  more  than  three- 
sixteenths  inches  per  minute,  the  piping 
will  be  considered  tight.  Should  it  fall 
more  than  this  amount,  the  test  will  be  in- 
terrupted, and  will  only  be  resumed  after 
the  gas-fitter  has  sent  a  second  notice  stat- 
ing that  the  existing  defects  have  been  re- 
moved. 

In  the  case  of  extensive  gas  pipe  systems 
the  test  shall  be  made  in  sections. 

Filling  gas  pipes  with  water,  in  order  to 
detect  defective  joints  or  other  leaks,  is 
strictly  prohibited.  Any  gas  piping  so 
treated  shall  remain  excluded  from  the 
test  until  all  the  pipes  which  have  been 

*  This  test  is  less  severe  than  the  test  usually  applied  in 
the  American  practice  of  gas  piping.  The  usual  height  of 
the  column  of  mercury  is  five  to  six  inches,  but  the  better 
class  of  work  is  tested  under  a  pressure  of  a  column  of  mer- 
cury from  10  to  15  inches  in  height.  The  writer  has  found 
it  expedient  to  call  in  his  specifications  for  a  column  of  18 
inches  of  mercury. — W.  P.  G. 


184 

filled  with  water,  are  taken  apart,  cleaned 
and  dried. 

In  case  of  temporary  gas  piping  for  a 
circus  or  other  show,  or  for  halls  arranged 
for  festivals,  if  the  conditions  relating  to 
dangers  from  fire  will  permit,  the  inspector, 
with  the  approval  of  the  owner,  may  give 
a  written  permit  to  connect  the  gas  pipes 
with  the  gas  service  for  the  purpose  of 
testing  the  pipes  with  the  gas  turned  on 
(either  by  watching  the  small  index  of  the 
gas  meter  or  by  looking  for  leaks  by  the 
sense  of  smell). 

If  no  defects  of  importance  are  dis- 
covered, the  inspector  may  permit  the  gas 
to  be  left  turned  on. 

Gas  Inspectors  Certificate.— -If  the  test 
of  a  system  of  gas  piping  in  a  new  build- 
ing turns  out  satisfactorily,  the  gas- titter 
receives  from  the  inspector  a  certificate  in 
duplicate,  in  which  the  number  of  lights, 
or  else  (where  gas  is  to  be  used  otherwise 
than  for  lighting)  the  consumption  of  gas 
is  stated.  In  this  certificate  the  inspector 
is  also  to  state  whether  or  not  there  are 
any  objections  on  technical  grounds  to  the 


185 

putting  of  the  gas  service  or  main  supply 
with  its  shut-off,  and  to  the  setting  up  of 
the  gas  meter. 

If  the  certificate  relates  to  additions  or 
enlargements  of  the  gas  piping  in  an  old 
building,  the  same  must  also  state  the 
number  of  additional  lights  put  in  or  the 
capacity  -to  which  the  system  has  been 
increased.  The  certificate  must  further 
state  whether  the  main  gas  meter  is  of 
sufficient  capacity  for  the  total  number 
of  lights  or  for  the  increased  consumption, 
or  whether  a  new  larger  meter  must  be 
substituted. 

One  copy  of  the  certificate,  which  also 
contains  the  application  for  a  gas  service 
and  a  gas  meter,  shall  be  filled  out  and 
signed  by  the  owner,  and  then  handed  to 
the  gas  company,  and  thus  serves  as  a 
written  order  for  the  work  which  the  gas 
company  is  to  perform  for  the  owner. 

The  gas  company  shall  fill  the  order 
within  the  following  three  days  (except 
where  the  ground  is  frozen  in  winter)  or 
in  case  of  alterations  or  additions,  the  gas 


186 

company  must  exchange  and  set  the  neces- 
sary main  or  intermediate  meters. 

Without  such  official  certificate  the  gas 
company  will  not  be  permitted,  either  in 
new  buildings  or  in  alterations,  to  set  up  or 
exchange  gas  meters  and  to  turn  on  the 
gas. 

Maintenance  of  the  Gas  Lighting  System. 
— The  owner  shall  in  all  cases  be  respon- 
sible for  the  maintenance  of  the  gas  pip- 
ing system. 

In  cases  where  the  municipal  department 
discovers  that  a  gas  piping  system,  either 
in  a  new  or  in  an  old  altered  building,  has 
been  put  in  use  without  first  obtaining  the 
certificate  prescribed  by  law  and  without 
the  piping  having  been  tested,  or  in  cases 
where  there  are  serious  defects  in  the  gas- 
piping  of  old  buildings,  the  department 
has  the  right  to  order  the  owner  to  have  a 
proper  test  applied  by  a  licensed  gas- 
fitter.  Should  the  owner  refuse  to  do  so, 
the  further  use  of  the  gas  piping  system 
may  be  prohibited  and  the  gas  may  be 
turned  off  from  the  building. 


187 

Should  the  gas  meter  be  suspected  of 
registering  incorrectly,  the  gas  company 
shall,  upon  [an  order  from  the  municipal 
department,  exchange  the  gas  meter  and 
test  the  suspected  meter  in  the  presence  of 
an  inspector. 

Should  the  test  prove  the  meter  to  be 
correct,  the  expense  of  the  test  must  be 
be  borne  by  the  complainant  who  re- 
quested the  making  of  the  test.  If  the 
meter  is  found  to  register  incorrectly,  the 
same  shall  be  repaired,  re-tested  or  replaced 
by  a  new  one  at  the  expense  of  the  owner, 
who  shall  also  pay  for  the  testing  of  the 
defective  meter. 

Penalties. — Any  person  violating  this 
ordinance  shall  pay  a  fine  up  to  fifteen 
dollars,  or  shall  be  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment up  to  two  weeks. 

Fees. — For  each  official  inspection  and 
test  the  owner  of  the  building  shall  pay  to 
the  municipal  department  a  fee,  the  amount 
of  which  is  calculated  according  to  the 
number  of  gas  outlets  in  the  building,  viz. : 


188 

For  4  outlets $0,50 

From    5  to  10  « .75 

«  11  "  20  "  ,...o ...   1.00 

«  21  "  30  "  1.25 

"  31  "  50  "  1.50 

«  51  «  100  "  „  2.00 

More  than    100  " ...2.50 

For  the  inspection  of  gas  piping  put  in 
without  the  outlets  being  used,  or  for  the 
examination  of  plans  for  additions  or  altera- 
tions, or  for  tests  of  gas  piping  suspected  to 
be  defective,  a  fee  is  charged  in  proportion 
to  the  time  spent,  each  hour  of  the  official 
inspector  being  charged  at  fifty  cents, 
and  each  hour  of  his  assistant  at  twenty- 
five  cents. 

In  case  the  first  test  proves  the  gas  pipe 
system  to  be  leaky  and  defective  or  not  in 
accordance  with  the  above  regulations,  the 
defects  are  to  be  repaired,  and  for  each 
additional  test  one-half  of  the  above  fees 
is  charged. 


189 


INDEX. 

PAGE 

Preface 5 

Artificial  Illumination 7 

Historical  Notes  on  Gas  Lighting 11 

Advantages  of  Gas 13 

Usual  Defects  of  Gas  Lighting  and  Gas  Piping  21 

Gas  Service  Pipes  and  Gas  Meters ,  28 

Gas  Distributing  Pipes 32- 

Pipe  Fittings  and  Pipe  Joints 36 

How  to  run  Gas  Pipes  in  Buildings. 37 

Testing  Gas  Pipes 40 

Gas  Leaks 50 

Precautions  against  Danger  from  Fire 57 

Gas  Burners 62 

Gas  Pressure  Regulators 72 

Ventilating  Gas  Burners 73 

Gas  Globes  and  Globe  Holders 75 

Gas  Fixtures 77 

Hints  to   Gas    Consumers  on  the  Proper  Use 

and  Management  of  Gas 82 

Advice  to  Persons  Building  a  House  on  Service 
Pipe  and  House  Piping,  Gas  Meter,  Gas 
Fixtures,  Gas  Globes  and  Pressure  Regu- 
lators, Supply  to  Gas  Logs  and  Gas 

Stoves ,  82 


190 
INDEX— continued. 


Maintenance  of  Gas  Fittings 87 

Management  of  Gas , 89 

Suggestions  for  the  Treatment  of  Persons  over- 
come by  the  Inhalation  of  Gas 94 

Gas  Leaks 98 

Precautions  against  Fire 98 

Irregulari  ties  in  th  e  Gas  Supply 101 

Consumption  of  Gas  and  Control  and  Beduc- 

tion  of  Gas  Bills.. 109 

How  to  Eeduce  High  Gas  Bills 115 

How  to  read  the  Index  of  the  Gas  Meter 116 

How  to  ascertain  the  Quantity  of  Gas  Con- 
sumed    123 

How  to  detect  Gas  Leaks  or  Escapes  of  Gas. ...  123 

The  Use  of  Gas  for  Cooking  and  Heating 124 

Cooking  by  Gas ^132 

Heating  by  Gas 140 

Specification  for  Gas  Piping 154 

Municipal  Eules  and  Kegulations  regarding 
Gas  Piping  and  Gas  Fitting  in  the  City  of 
Munich 169 


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BUTTON  (W.  S.)-  Steam  Boiler  Construction.  A 
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LIVACHE   (ACH.,    Ingenieur  Civil  Des   Mines). 

The  Manufacture  of  Varnishes,  Oil  Crushing,  Refin- 
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LOCKE  (ALFRED  G.,  and  CHARLES  G.)  A  Prac- 
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LODGE  (OLIVER  J.).  Elementary  Mechanics, 
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LOKING  (A.  E.).  A  Hand  b9ok  of  the  Electro-Mag- 
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LUNGE  (GEO.).  A  Theoretical  and  Practical  Treatise 
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MAVER   (WM.).     American   Telegraphy:    Systems, 

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MAYER  (Prof.  A.  M.).    Lecture  Notes  on  Physics. 

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SCIENTIFIC   PUBLICATIONS.  23 

McPHEKSON  (J.  A.,  .4.  M.  Inst.  C.  E.).  Water- 
works Distribution:  a  practical  guide  to  the  laying 
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A  Practical  Description  of  the  Edison  Sys- 
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Foye.  Fourth  edition,  revised  and  en- 
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Jghn  P.  W'isser. 

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No.  72.  TOPOGRAPHICAL         SURVEYING.         By 

George  J.  Specht,  Prof.  A.  S.  Hardy,  John  B. 
MoMaster,  and  H.  F.  Walling.  Third  Edition. 
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bra  of  Algebraic  Numbers.  By  Prof.  Wil- 
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Stadia  Measurements.  By  Arthur  Winslow. 
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and  Its  Use.     By  W.  B.  Le  Van. 

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Frank  C.  Roberts,  C.E. 

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Houses.      By   Glenn   Brown. 

No.  81.  WATER    METERS:    COMPARATIVE 

Tests  of  Accuracy,  Delivery,  etc.  Distinc- 
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Browne. 

No.   82.   THE    PRESERVATION    OF    TIMBER    BY 

the  Use  of  Antiseptics.  By  Samuel  Bagster 
Boulton,  C.E. 

No.  S3.   MECHANICAL,  INTEGRATORS.  By  Prof. 

Henry  S.  H.   Shaw,  C.E. 

No.   84.   FLOW     OF     WATER     IN     OPEN     CHAN- 

nels,  Pipes,  Conduits,  Sewers,  etc.  With  Ta- 
bles. By  P.  J.  Flynn,  C.E. 

No.  85.  THE       LUMINIFEROUS       AETHER.       By 

Prof.   De  Volson  Wood. 

No.   86.  HANDBOOK      OF      MINERALOGY:      DE- 

termination,  Description,  and  Classification 
of  Minerals  Found  in  the  United  States.  By 
Prof.  J.  C.  Foye.  Fifth  edition,  revised. 

No.  87.  TREATISE  ON  THE  THEORY  OF  THE 

Construction  of  Helicoidal  Oblique  Arches. 
By  John  L.  Culley,  C.E. 

No.  88.  BEAMS  AND  GIRDERS.  Practical  For- 
mulas for  their  Resistance.  By  P.  H.  Phil- 
brick. 

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facture,  Properties,  and  Analyses.  By  Lieut. 
John  P.  Wisser,  U.S.A. 

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metric,  and  Spirit.  By  Prof.  I.  O.  Baker. 
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Use.     By  Boverton  Redwood,   F.I.C.,  F.C.S. 

No.   93.   RECENT     PRACTICE     IN     THE      SANI- 

tary  Drainage  of  Buildings.  With  Memo- 
randa on  the  Cost  of  Plumbing  Work.  Sec- 
ond edition,  revised  and  enlarged.  By  Wil- 
liam Paul  Gerhard,  C.E. 

No.  94.   THE    TREATMENT    OF     SEWAGE.       By 

Dr.    C.    Meymott    Tidy. 

No.  95.  PLATE-GIRDER     CONSTRUCTION.       By 

Isami  Hiroi,  C.E.     Fourth  edition,  revised. 

No.   96.  ALTERNATE     CURRENT    MACHINERY. 

By  Gisbet  Kapp,  Assoc.  M.  .Inst.,  C.E. 

No.   97.  THE        DISPOSAL         OP        HOUSEHOLD 

Wastes.  Second  edition.  By  W.  Paul  Ger- 
hard, Sanitary  Engineer. 

No.  98.  PRACTICAL     DYNAMO-BUILDING    FOR 

Amateurs.  How  to  Wind  for  Any  Output. 
By  Frederick  Walker.  Fully  illustrated. 
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No.  99.   TRIPLE-EXPANSION       ENGINES       AND 

Engine  Trials.  By  Prof.  Osborne  Reynolds. 
Edited  with  notes,  etc.,  by  F.  E.  Idell,  M.E. 

No.   100.  HOW  TO  BECOME  AN  ENGINEER;  or, 

The  Theoretical  and  Practical  Training  nec- 
essary in  Fitting  for  the  Duties  of  the  Civil 
Engineer.  By  Prof.  Geo.  W.  Plympton. 

No.  101.  THE    SEXTANT,    and    Other    Reflecting 

Mathematical    Instruments.      With    Practical  , 
Hints  for  their  Adjustment  and  Use.     By  F. 
R.  Brainard,  U.  S.  Navy. 

No.   102.  THE     GALVANIC     CIRCUIT     INVESTI- 

gated  Mathematically.  By  Dr.  G.  S.  Ohm, 
Berlin,  1827.  Translated  by  William  Fran- 
cis. With  Preface  and  Notes  by  the  Editor, 
Thomas  D.  Lockwood,  M.I.E.E.  Second  edi- 
tion. 

No.   103.  THE   MICROSCOPICAL   EXAMINATION 

of  Potable  Water.  With  Diagrams.  By  Geo. 
W.  Rafter.  Second  edition. 

No.  104.  VAN  NOSTRAND'S  TABLE-BOOK  FOR 

Civil  and  Mechanical  Engineers.  Compiled 
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THE;  VAN  NOSTRAND  SCIENCE:  SERIES. 


No.   105.   DETERMINANTS.      An    Introduction    to 

the  Study  of,  with  Examples  and  Applica- 
tions. By  Prof.  G.  A.  Miller. 

No.  106.   COMPRESSED  AIR.     Experiments  upon 

the  Transmission  of  Power  by  Compressed 
Air  in  Paris.  (Popp's  System.)  By  Prof. 
A.  B.  W.  Kennedy.  The  Transmission  and 
Distribution  of  Power  from  Central  Stations 
by  Compressed  Air.  By  Prof.  W.  C.  Unwin. 
Edited  by  F.  E.  Idell.  Third  edition. 

No.  107.  A  GRAPHICAL,  METHOD  FOR  SWING 

Bridges.  A  Rational  and  Easy  Graphical 
Analysis  of  the  Stresses  in  Ordinary  Swing 
Bridges.  With  an  Introduction  on  the  Gen- 
eral TJieory  of  Graphical  Statics,  with  Fold- 
ing Plates.  Second  edition.  By  Benjamin  F. 
La  Rue. 

No.  108.   SLIDE-VALVE   DIAGRAMS.      A   French 

Method  for  Constructing  Slide-valve  Dia- 
grams. By  Lloyd  Bankson,  B.S.,  Assistant 
Naval  Constructor,  U.  S.  Navy.  8  Folding 
Plates. 

No.  109.  THE  MEASUREMENT  OF  ELECTRIC 

Currents.  Electrical  Measuring  Instruments. 
By  James  Swinburne.  Meters  for  Electrical 
Energy.  By  C.  H.  Wordmgham.  Edited, 
with  Preface,  by  T.  Commerford  Martin. 
With  Folding  Plate  and  Numerous  Illustra- 
tions. 

No.   110.  TRANSITION    CURVES.      A    Field-book 

for  Engineers,  Containing  Rules  and  Tables 
for  Laying  out  Transition  Curves.  By  Wal- 
ter G.  Fox,  C.E.  Second  edition. 

No.   111.   GAS-LIGHTING      AND       GAS-FITTING. 

Specifications  and  Rules  for  Gas-piping. 
Notes  on  the  Advantages  of  Gas  for  Cook- 
ing and  Heating,  and  Useful  Hints  to  Gas 
Consumers.  Third  edition.  By  Wm.  Paul 
Gqrhard,  C.E. 

No.   112.  A    PRIMER    ON    THE    CALCULUS.      By 

E.  Sherman  Gould,  M.  Am.   Soc.  C.   E.     Third 
edition,   revised  and  enlarged. 

No.  113.  PHYSICAL  PROBLEMS  and  Their  So- 
lution. By  A.  Bourgougnon,  formerly  As- 
sistant at  Bellevue  Hospital.  Second  ed. 

No.   114.  USE       OF       THE       SLIDE       RULE.       By 

F.  A.    Halsey,    of   the   "American   Machinist." 
Fourth  edition,   revised  and  enlarged. 


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SEP  14 1960 


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